Labour Day Focus: Ratios Save Lives

When nurses are overworked, the possibility of medical complication increases, the risk of infection rises and a patient’s recovery time gets longer. This is why the QLD nurses union and the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation believe Queensland needs mandatory nurse-to-patient ratios, nurse-to-resident ratios and midwife-to-patient ratios right across our health system.

This might mean, for example, a ratio of one nurse to four patients in a general ward during the day, but perhaps one nurse to one patient in intensive care.

 Ratios ensure nurses and midwives have safe, manageable workloads, and the right skills and support they need to look after you and your loved ones properly.

On 12 July 2015, the Labor state government announced they would legislate nurse/midwife-to-patient ratios in public hospitals starting from July 2016.

But this is just the beginning. These laws are yet to pass parliament and the job of implementing ratios will take some time.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdkE5vSA6FQ[/embed]

Nurse-to-patient ratios are the first building block of the ratios campaign, and this TV ad is designed to encourage people who are using hospital and aged care services to ask questions about how many nurses are on their ward.

You can ask a nurse, a midwife or a nurse manager.

The Ratios Saves Lives campaign have produced this video for you to share far and wide with your friends and family.