The Victorian opposition has upped the stakes in the pre-election healthcare bidding war, pledging to train 40,000 nurses as part of a $325 million plan if it wins government in November.
The announcement means Victoria's fraying healthcare system will remain firmly at the centre of the election campaign, as the opposition and government continue to trade blows on the hotly contested political battleground.
The opposition's plan would see 18,000 new and upskilled nurses and midwives across the public and private systems, on top of the 22,000 already pledged by the Labor Government
Tens of thousands of scholarships to make nursing courses free
The plan also promises 25,000 scholarships to cover up front HECS fees for nursing and midwifery students who join both the private and public sectors. A similar Andrews government pledge only covers those who join the public sector.
Ten thousand scholarships will also be made available to existing nurses and midwives who want to upgrade their skills.
"Before COVID there were real shortages in our health system, especially around the numbers of nurses. We need to recruit, retrain and also recognise that work that nurses have done over the last two-and-a-half years," opposition health spokeswoman Georgie Crozier said.
"So this is about supporting nurses, importantly, upskilling nurses so they can work to the best scope of practice and enable them to be supported in that work."
The opposition says it will fund the plan, and other healthcare commitments, by scrapping the government's planned Suburban Rail Loop between Cheltenham and Box Hill.
Thousands of healthcare workers needed to meet demand
The plan also provides for the immediate recruitment of 5,000 new nurses and midwives 2,000 other healthcare workers, partly by establishing a new visa subclass for international workers.
If it wins government, the opposition says it will also establish a ministerial healthcare council to address issues in emergency and pandemic responses, recruitment, rural staffing and affordable accommodation for healthcare workers.
According to a recently released government skills plan, Victoria needs an extra 65,000 healthcare and community services workers to meet demand and replace people who are retiring.
However, the nurses and midwives union criticised the opposition's plan, saying its costings did not add up and the Coalition had a history of cutting nursing and midwifery positions and substituting nurses and midwives with less qualified workers.
"Their plan lacks detail, has no timelines and it is silent on committing to legislated nurse/midwife patient ratios," the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation's Lisa Fitzpatrick said.
At a press conference on Wednesday, Premier Daniel Andrews also criticised the opposition's plan, saying it favoured private over public health care providers.
"The difference is, we favour the public over the private. We favour patients over profit, and we will get this done," he said.
"These are not just promises, it's a plan with a track record. We will recruit and train those additional staff, ratios will be protected, and public hospitals will remain in public hands."
Experts have previously questioned whether the government's commitment to make nursing courses free will lead to increased student numbers, warning that university courses are already running at close to capacity.
The opposition's announcement follows a slew of promises from both parties to build or upgrade hospitals across the state and tackle other issues in the healthcare system.
Between them, Labor and the Coalition have announced almost $15 billion worth of proposed spending in the healthcare sector.
