Student nurses and midwives will receive a $5000 sign-on bonus to enter public health system for two years should Labor be re-elected in November, while the coalition has promised new robots to address the elective surgery waitlist.
On Wednesday, November 9, both major parties continued to carve out healthcare as a key battleground on the campaign trail.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said his party would spend $150 million to encourage student nurses and midwifes who graduate between 2022 and 2024 into public health care.
“We’ll also deliver a nursing workforce package that will put more than 450 extra nurses and midwives into our hospitals, alleviating pressure on busy wards and emergency departments,” a Labor statement said.
Opposition Leader Matthew Guy promised to spend $66 million on nine robots to halve the elective surgery waitlist, to be stationed at eight hospitals including Northern and Sunshine.
“As premier, my first priority will be to fix the health crisis,” Mr Guy said.
“This technology will help us halve the elective surgery waitlist and give tens of thousands of Victorians their lives back.”
The latest robotic technology is currently used at Royal Melbourne Hospital, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and University Hospital Geelong, as well as private hospitals across the state.
