ACT Health Services Compliance Report
Mandated minimum nurse midwife to patient ratios were implemented across the ACT Health Services in a phased approach. Phase One was implemented on 1 February 2022, in line with the ACT Public Sector Nursing and Midwifery Enterprise Agreement 2020-2022 (the Agreement) and the ACT Public Sector Nursing and Midwifery Safe Care Staffing Framework (the Framework). The areas included in Phase one were general medical, general surgical, acute aged care and adult mental health inpatient units.
The mandated minimum nurse midwife to patient ratio, relative to the number of patients on the ward for general medical, general surgical, acute aged care are:
Morning and afternoon shift:
- 1 nurse for every 4 patients
- 1 nurse team leader
Night shift
- 1 nurse for every 6 patients
For adult mental health unit are:
- High dependency unit – morning and evening shift
- 1 nurse for every 2 patients
- In low dependency units on a morning or evening shift
- 1 nurse for every 4 patients and
- 1 nurse team leader
- On a night shift
- 1 nurse for every 6 patients
A unit may use no more than 25% enrolled nurses when complying with a ratio. This is subject to review prior to Phase Two commencing.
The health services are responsible for reporting on compliance monthly and this data is represented below. Currently, Calvary Public Hospital Bruce and Canberra Health Services are reporting at a point in time across the day. The Agreement provides that a health service will comply with an applicable ratio throughout a shift. The health services are developing reports to capture compliance across the entire shift.
