More than 1,000 nurses today protested outside the Ministry of Health and Welfare, handing in a petition demanding that a proposed nurse-to-patient ratio system be put into law after two years of promises.
The system would set minimum nurse-to-patient ratios for day, evening and night shifts across medical centers and hospitals that would prevent nurses from being overworked, guaranteeing adequate staffing levels and protecting patient safety, they said.
Department of Nursing and Healthcare Director-General Tsai Shu-feng (蔡淑鳳) accepted the petition and promised that the ministry would hold a meeting on Friday to discuss the legislative timeline and related measures.
Photo: CNA
Minister of Health and Welfare Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) later held a closed-door meeting with representatives from the groups, during which he said that a draft amendment would be released as early as Tuesday next week, on International Nurses’ Day.
When he took office, President William Lai (賴清德) promised that the three-shift system would be codified into law during his first two years.
In July 2024, the Executive Yuan approved a 12-point program to address nursing shortages that included retention and night shift incentives, overhauling the work environment and implementing a standard 1-3 nurse-to-patient ratio per shift.
Photo: Chen Chih-yi, Taipei Times
The incentives were expected to be codified into law within two years and would require four years to be fully implemented.
Nursing groups today stood outside the ministry holding placards and chanting protest slogans, accusing the government of changing its proposals and standards.
The ministry has allocated NT$6 billion (US$190 million) annually to the program since 2024, showing that the government has adequate funding to move the proposal forward, Taiwan Union of Nurses Association president Chen Li-chin (陳麗琴) said.
The delay shows a disregard for patient safety and quality of care, she said.
While the nursing community can understand the need for a “buffer period,” it cannot accept policy stagnation, Chen said.
Only by legislating the standard promptly and incorporating penalties can it truly protect nurses and patients, she added.
The nursing groups proposed three demands.
First, the government should immediately revise the Establishment Standards for Medical Institutions (醫療機構設置標準) and implement the new ratio system by May 20, they said.
Second, the ministry should draft a legislative amendment to be submitted to the Cabinet, revising Article 12 of the Medical Care Act (醫療法) to codify the three-shift nurse-to-patient ratio into law, they said.
Last, the government should amend Article 102 of the same act to introduce reasonable penalties and establish an enforcement mechanism to act as a deterrent, they added.
According to a report last year by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Taiwan has 7.29 hospital beds per 1,000 people, far above the OECD average of 4.3 and up to 2.5 times more than in Europe and the US, the groups said.
Taiwan does not lack beds, but struggles in the retention of nursing staff, they said.
Once the ministry finalizes the details, the legislation would enter a 60-day public notice period before official promulgation, although the ministry would try to expedite the process for formal publication by the end of July, Shih said.
Hospitals would then have a two-year buffer period before enforcement, he added.
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