New South Wales is on the cusp of a nursing crisis, with south-west Sydney set to face a “catastrophic” shortage of staff, according to official data. Alarming figures predict that the state’s pool of about 70,000 full-time staff will soon be unable to meet patient demand. And over the next decade, the shortfall will only intensify. By 2030, the modelling suggests while 82,000 full-time registered nurses and midwives will be needed, only 74,000 will be available — a gap of 8,000 workers. For hospitals and aged-care centres who rely on enrolled nurses — the less-qualified workers who provide vital one-on-one care — the situation looks particularly dire, according to documents released through a long-running Freedom of Information (FOI) application. This year alone, NSW will need to find 2,000 full-time enrolled nurses to meet demand, and on current trends, the shortage will continue to grow. The current workforce of 9,000 full-time staff will plummet to 7,500 by 2030, while at the same time demand will sky-rocket to about 13,000. Stewart James, an executive manager with Hammond Care, is not surprised by the data and says his hospitals and aged-care networks across Sydney will soon face a real struggle to hire and retain new staff. “Because of the issue with the aging workforce and the aging demographic, there will be a point where nursing is at a critical shortage. “And it will be important for organisations like Hammond Care and others to get younger nurses and train and develop and retain them. That’s our future.”
