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Cabinet passes law to address nursing shortage
Courtesy of ICRT
The cabinet has approved a “12-point incentive program” aimed at addressing the island's nursing shortage.
The program introduces a new law on three-shift nurse-to-patient ratios within two years and improved workplace conditions - all of which were included in President Lai Ching-te's new "Healthy Taiwan" policy.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare says the initiative's goals are to establish a unified system for nursing education and examinations, to increase the employment rate of newly licensed nurses, and to boost nursing education capacity by 10% annually until 2030.
The ministry says new standards for nurse-to-patient ratios in hospitals indicate that the highest-level medical centres will adhere to ratios of 1:6 for the day shift, 1:9 for the evening shift, and 1:11 for the midnight shift.
The government also hopes to produce a total of 71,000 nursing graduates in six years, resulting in an additional 42,000 practicing nurses while retaining 28,000 others.
Premier Cho Jung-tai is calling on all government ministries to actively assist in the establishment of an audit mechanism to ensure accurate distribution of incentives to support nursing staff effectively.
