International Midwives and Nurses Days

Adjourned debate on motion of Hon. S.G. Wade:

That this council—

1. Recognises both International Day of the Midwife on 5 May and International Nurses Day on 12 May;

2. Recognises the courage, compassion and ongoing work of nurses and midwives in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic; and

3. Thanks nurses and midwives for their outstanding service in hospitals, homes and the community to protect and maintain the health and wellbeing of all South Australians, year in year out, and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

(Continued from 12 May 2021.)

The Hon. C. BONAROS (16:46): I rise to speak on behalf of SA-Best in support of the Minister for Health's motion recognising the good work of our nurses and midwives. Earlier this month, the world came together to celebrate International Day of the Midwife, followed closely by International Nurses Day. I, for one, like many in this place, appreciate what our nurses and midwives do for us each and every day.

As I have said before in this place, it takes a special sort of person—indeed, a special sort of person with unconditional empathy for people from all walks of life—to work in these roles. It takes a special sort of person to be present at the start of life, and it certainly takes a special person to be present at the end of a life when a person closes their eyes for the very last time, and to do so day in and day out. Nurses and midwives do not just attend to the physical care of a patient. As we know, their roles are all encompassing, and I am just not sure how they manage to do what they do, but I am forever grateful.

Last year, the World Health Organization designated 2020 as the International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife and, in recognition of the dedication of nurses, midwives and other healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, 2021 has been designated by WHO as the International Year of Health and Care Workers.

The spotlight is shining brightly on healthcare workers, and it has been, as we all know, a particularly challenging year. Worldwide, over 2,700 nurses are reported to have died from COVID-19 related illnesses, and these are just the reported deaths. As at the end of 2020, more than 1.6 million healthcare workers had been infected with COVID-19 in the 34 countries that recorded data.

There are reports of widespread stress and burnout in the nursing profession, labelled by the International Council of Nurses as the mass traumatisation of the global nursing workforce. It has been suggested the effects of the pandemic may have a lasting impact on the nursing profession for future generations. I do not think we need to think too far outside the box to know that that is more than just a mere suggestion.

While we have been asked to adapt to a new normal, with increased reliance on PPE and physical distancing, healthcare workers have been asked to carry most of the load. They have put themselves at great risk to ensure adequate health care is provided to those who need it. The COVID-19 pandemic has certainly brought the issue of mental health to the forefront of everyone's minds, and now more than ever we must ensure the mental health and wellbeing of our healthcare professionals is supported.

This year's International Nurses Day theme was a vision for future health care. We know what it should look like: fit for purpose hospitals; properly funded services; workplaces free of bullying, harassment and racism; reduced workload pressures; secure working conditions; proper pathways for specialisation and continuing education and training; and the promotion of the wellbeing of all healthcare workers.

The $700 million earmarked—I am going to move on from that. I will move on from that because I do not want to politicise this contribution. I do not think this is the time or the place. There are currently 33,000 nurses and midwives across the public and private sectors in South Australia. With our ageing population and predicted shortfall in the nursing workforce, that sector needs to look as attractive as possible to meet future demands.

Nothing could be further from the truth at the moment. When we look at social media, when we open the papers, we know that our nurses are under probably the highest levels of stress, especially given COVID, that they have ever been under and it is incumbent on all of us to do our bit to ensure their safety and to ensure that we are meeting all those goals that I have just alluded to.

Overcrowded hospitals and emergency departments, long wait lists, workload pressures and insecure working conditions are not attractive to anybody and we need to be doing everything we can, all of us need to be doing everything we can, to make sure that we are providing them with the safe workplace that they deserve and to do so for all the reasons that I have outlined.

As I said, it takes a special sort of person to be present at the start of life, it takes a special sort of person to see us at our worst in life and it takes a special sort of person to see us when we finally close our eyes for the very last time. These are the individuals who undertake that role and do so every day of the week for our benefit. With those words, I commend the motion to the house.

The Hon. I. PNEVMATIKOS (16:51): I rise today to support the motion by the Hon. Stephen Wade. Nurses and midwives hold an exceptional role in our state to the public and within each of our personal lives. They help us through some of the best times and some of the worst times. Unfortunately, the past year and a half has been some of the worst times for nurses. Nurses and midwives have been at the coalface of the COVID-19 pandemic, putting their lives at risk to save others.

This year, the World Health Assembly has made 2021 the Year of Health and Care Workers in recognition of the dedication and sacrifice of the millions of healthcare workers at the forefront of the COVID-19 pandemic. While nurses are getting high praise from us, they face great challenges with their working conditions. At a time when frontline clinicians were bravely continuing to show up for work, the Marshall and Morrison governments failed to step up and support our health heroes. Sadly, during the pandemic our nurses were left without adequate support, leaving many without work, despite putting their hand up to work and become part of the COVID-19 response.

It is maddening to see the government present a motion like this to this council when nurses and midwives were not offered comprehensive paid pandemic leave or guaranteed job security, if they were casual workers, during the pandemic. There was no added support given to those who worked either. The government failed to provide impactful cost-of-living relief to nurses and midwives during this difficult time, such as a waiver on annual licensing fees or on universal free hospital parking schemes.

Violence against frontline workers has been highlighted recently and several severe cases were of particular note during the pandemic. Nurses and midwives face serious risk to their own health and safety, with significant threats of violence within their workplace. No matter the workplace, no-one should feel unsafe and vulnerable at work. Events of violence have been escalating and even with particularly horrendous incidents against our frontline workers over the beginning of the pandemic period, the government has remained inactive.

The opposition has been consistently calling on the government to bring in protection for our nurses with additional security measures. Unfortunately, very little has been done by the government over these two years, but we will continue to advocate. The pandemic has not only grown our immense appreciation for the work nurses and midwives do but has highlighted how important our public healthcare system is. Having a strong public healthcare system makes for great outcomes for both patients and hospital staff.

Nurses and midwives are providing the best care they possibly can for patients in a system that is stretched to breaking point. We have a duty to ensure that these workers keep the state safe and healthy. Thank you to all those nurses for the remarkable work they do. Happy International Nurses Day and International Day of the Midwife.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. D.G.E. Hood.