Judith Lumley Centre, La Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC 3086, Australia; School of Nursing & Midwifery, La Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC 3086, Australia; The Royal Women's Hospital, Locked Bag 300, Cnr Grattan St and Flemington Rd, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia.
Judith Lumley Centre, La Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC 3086, Australia; School of Nursing & Midwifery, La Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC 3086, Australia; The Royal Women's Hospital, Locked Bag 300, Cnr Grattan St and Flemington Rd, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia.
Women Birth. 2024 Feb;37(1):144-152. doi: 10.1016/j.wombi.2023.07.130. Epub 2023 Aug 6.
In Australia, there is a lack of accurate data on midwifery workforce staffing and skill mix, which in turn hinders workforce policy and planning.
To describe the current staffing levels of the midwifery workforce in Victoria, Australia, explore workforce challenges and assess the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on staffing.
Cross-sectional.
Midwifery managers in all public and private maternity services in Victoria, Australia were invited to complete a survey exploring midwifery staffing numbers and adequacy. Topics explored included midwifery turnover, recruitment, and skill mix. Descriptive statistics were used.
The survey was open March to October 2021, and 56 % (38/68) of managers responded. Of these, 76 % reported inadequate midwifery staff levels, with deficits ranging from one to 19 estimated Full-Time Equivalent (EFT) midwives, with a combined total deficit of 135 EFT. In the 12 months prior to the survey, 73 % of services had found it difficult to recruit midwives, with increased difficulty during the COVID-19 pandemic. Managers were concerned about retaining and recruiting 'experienced' midwives due to an ageing workforce and high turnover due to work/life imbalance and job dissatisfaction. These issues have led to a predominantly early career midwifery workforce and created concern about skill mix.
Victorian maternity services have a midwifery workforce shortage and are experiencing significant skill mix issues. The pandemic has exacerbated these considerable gaps in the workforce. Urgent implementation of retention and recruitment schemes are needed, along with strategies to improve the working conditions for the current workforce.
在澳大利亚，缺乏关于助产士劳动力配置和技能组合的准确数据，这反过来又阻碍了劳动力政策和规划。
描述澳大利亚维多利亚州助产士劳动力的现有人员配置水平，探讨劳动力挑战，并评估 COVID-19 大流行对人员配置的影响。
横断面研究。
邀请澳大利亚维多利亚州所有公立和私立产科服务的助产士管理人员完成一项调查，探讨助产士人员配置数量和充足性。探讨的主题包括助产士人员流动率、招聘和技能组合。使用描述性统计。
该调查于 2021 年 3 月至 10 月开放，有 56%（38/68）的管理人员做出了回应。其中，76%的人报告说助产士人员配置水平不足，估计有 1 至 19 名全职同等人员（EFT）助产士短缺，总短缺人数为 135 EFT。在调查前的 12 个月中，有 73%的服务机构发现招聘助产士困难，在 COVID-19 大流行期间难度加大。管理人员担心由于劳动力老龄化和工作/生活失衡以及工作不满导致高离职率，难以留住和招聘“有经验”的助产士。这些问题导致了以早期职业助产士为主的劳动力队伍，并对技能组合产生了担忧。
维多利亚州的产科服务存在助产士劳动力短缺问题，并面临重大的技能组合问题。大流行加剧了劳动力方面的这些巨大差距。迫切需要实施保留和招聘计划，以及改善现有劳动力工作条件的战略。
