Mark McGowan asks nurses demanding patient ratios to ‘keep negotiating’ ahead of mass union meeting

The Premier has implored nurses not to cause hospital chaos by striking as its union pushes for enforceable nurse-to-patient ratios and a higher pay bump than what the State Government has offered. As talks continue for a replacement industrial agreement, the Australian Nursing Federation is calling for WA to follow the lead of Victoria, which enshrined ratios in legislation in 2015. It is also pushing for a 5 per cent pay increase. On Wedesday, the ANF will host up to 2000 nurses at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre to vote on future rounds of industrial action – including overtime bans, bed closures and even strikes. “I just urge the workforce not to take industrial action on the basis that we’re currently in negotiations,” Mark McGowan told reporters on Sunday. “We’ve put a very, very generous pay offer out there ... A $3000 upfront payment, three per cent pay increases plus half a per cent superannuation each year and there’s no need for industrial action.” Mr McGowan declined to say whether he supported ratios and answer a separate question on whether WA had enough nurses to meet the union’s demand. In Victoria, there must be one nurse for every four patients in a general ward during the day and one nurse to every eight patients at night. Ratios are even lower for emergency departments, high-dependency units and intensive care. The inquest into the death of Aishwarya Aswath heard from one nurse that on the night the seven-year-old died, there were nine patients to every nurse at Perth Children Hospital’s emergency department. Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson recently did not dismiss the call for ratios, confirming “everything’s on the table” and acknowledging nurses had “worked incredibly hard over the last few years”.