There is concern the Tasmanian
Government's offer of graduate nurse jobs will not replace positions lost in
budget cuts.
The State Government has
promised 115 jobs to graduate nurses in 2013, up 17 per cent on this year's
intake.
But the Australian Nursing
Federation's Agnes Stanislaus-Large says it still falls short of what is
needed.
"[We need] at least
something like 150 because there's about 300 that graduate," she said.
The Liberal's Jeremy
Rockcliff says Health Minister Michelle O'Byrne's announcement is not good
enough.
"The Minister has
already sacked 300 nurses over the last 12 months in Tasmania," he said.
He says the state will lose
much-needed nurses.
"It's tragic for those
people that have studied hard, of course want to stay in Tasmania and work and
indeed for Tasmanian patients who are now languishing on waiting lists day by
day."
Ms O'Byrne says the
Government is returning graduate nurse numbers to a sustainable level and will
continue to offer as many positions as possible.
She says there are other job
opportunities for nursing graduates, including in the private sector and aged
care homes.
No comments:
Post a Comment