‘Unsafe staffing, unmanageable workloads’: Thousands of Queensland nurses quit

The Crisafulli government has defended its efforts to increase frontline health workers after data showed thousands of nurses had quit crucial positions at public hospitals in recent years.

Figures obtained by News Corp through Right to Information indicated more than 2400 nurses left hospitals in 2024–25, the worst departure of nursing staff in four years.

A total of 10,824 nurses left Queensland hospitals in the past five years, according to the data provided.

Health Minister Tim Nicholls admitted the statistics were concerning, but said attrition across Queensland Health had dropped under the Crisafulli government, from 6.54 per cent under Labor, to 5.42 per cent, and efforts were underway to grow and maintain nursing staff across the sector.

“[We’ve reduced attrition] by hiring 10,000 more employees in Queensland Health. More than 7000 of those have been frontline and frontline support [staff],” Nicholls said.

“We are working very hard to reduce those numbers [of nurses leaving] … I don’t think anyone could raise any quibbles about the amount of time, energy, and effort that’s being put into retaining staff as well as bringing on new staff.”

The Crisafulli government has pledged 46,000 additional healthcare workers – including doctors, nurses and paramedics – by 2032, but has yet to detail how such figures will be achieved.

A workforce gap analysis of Queensland Health was released in November, and a follow-up plan – initially promised by July – will be released later this year, Nicholls said.

Queensland Nurses and Midwives’ Union (QNMU) secretary Sarah Beaman said staffing issues continue to plague hospitals across the state, and were contributing to the recent exodus of workers.

“After years of ‘hanging in there’ because they love what they do, growing numbers of public nurses and midwives are leaving, or considering leaving, because they can no longer absorb unsafe staffing, unmanageable workloads or feeling unsupported by management,” Beaman said.

“It is important to note there will always have some natural workforce movement such as retirement or relocation. We also need to distinguish between leaving an employer and leaving their professions.

“The big concern is when nurses and midwives who want to keep working feel they can’t due to unsafe conditions.”

A recent survey of QNMU members found 15.6 per cent of shifts in wards covered by legislated ratios were still below the minimum staffing requirement. On wards without legislated ratios, nearly 60 per cent of shifts did not meet the same minimum staffing threshold.

The same Grow Your Voice survey found 84 per cent of respondents had recently experienced violence at work, with nearly a third experiencing three or more types of violence.

“People are not walking away because they have stopped caring about nursing or midwifery. They are reaching a point where the job is unsustainable,” Beaman said.

Shadow health spokesperson Mark Bailey accused the LNP of being combative towards health workers and said issues raised during wage negotiations and hospital planning had caused many to lose confidence in the government’s approach to recruitment and retention.

“There’s no doubt that our nurses are being overworked and are feeling burnt-out … because the government is not backing them in with extra capacity in our system,” Bailey said.

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