18 Feb, 2021
In Australia, difficulties in recruiting and retaining skilled experienced healthcare staff were reported in 2002 as occurring in both the public and private sectors in this Parliamentary report. At the time it was anticipated that the situation would not improve in the foreseeable future. In Chapter 2 of this report, titled Nurse shortages and the impact on health services, anecdotal evidence indicated that "75 per cent of nurses in hospital wards were talking about leaving, and that some hospitals reported that they experience a 30 per cent turnover of nurses each year." This report also indicated that nurses were working greater amounts of overtime, and there had been an increased use of agency nurses. While much has changed in the world since 2002, what rings true is the increased use of agency nurses and healthcare staff. At Health Staffing we’re proud of the role our agency staff, both nurses, assistant nurses and many other role types, play in assisting Facility Managers, Hospitals and Healthcare providers when they are managing their staffing rosters. In today's article I explore how my team and I maintain a high quality of agency staff, and suggest a number of ways you can better manage staff shortages.