The government will work toward creating better working conditions for nurses to address a shortage that has been brought to light by the unreasonable nurse-to-patient ratio in Taiwan, Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) said yesterday.
Liu made the remarks during an award ceremony for veteran and outstanding nurses to mark International Nurse Day, the birthday of Florence Nightingale, traditionally regarded as the founder of modern nursing.
“The longstanding problems in nurses’ working conditions are often the main reason why people are reluctant to choose the profession,” Liu said.
“It’s necessary to set a rational nurse-to-patient ratio in line with international standards,” he said.
Mary Huang (黃美娜), chief of the Department of Health’s (DOH) Bureau of Nursing and Health Service, said that the nurse-to-patient ratio in Taiwan ranges from between seven and nine patients per nurse, while the ratio in the US is one nurse per four patients and one nurse per seven patients in Japan.
Huang said that about 40 percent of the nation’s registered nurses — or 210,000 people — do not practice nursing in medical institutions.
Addressing the award recipients, National Union of Nurses president Yin Jeo-chen (尹祚芊), a Control Yuan member, urged Liu to allocate funds of between NT$2 billion (US$61.2 million) and NT$3 billion to improve conditions for nurses.
“This amount would account for only about 1 percent of the government’s earmarked budget for public construction, but it can make a difference to nurses’ working conditions,” Yin said.
A veteran nurse of 40 years, Yin said that improving working conditions could encourage nurses to return to the profession and meet the staffing deficit.
This was especially important as the government plans to launch a long-term care system for senior citizens, he said.
RSS