TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan’s government approved a plan on Thursday to substantially increase its nursing workforce through improved working conditions, training, and wages.
The Cabinet said a 12-point plan had been put in place on Thursday (July 4) that aims to add 42,000 practice nurses to the workforce by 2030 and retain 28,000 others who may have left the workforce. The plan aims to have 71,000 new nursing graduates in the same period, per CNA.
The changes come as public healthcare facilities face a nursing shortage, with staff quitting their jobs citing burnout and better opportunities in the private sector.
One of the key points of the plan aims to reduce patient-to-nurse ratios by one across the board, with the total number of patients per nurse depending on the time of day and the designation of the healthcare facility.
The health ministry said the new nurse-to-patient ratios for the highest-level medical centers will aim for 1:6 for day shifts, 1:9 for evening shifts, and 1:11 for midnight shifts.
Regional hospitals will aim to achieve ratios of 1:7, 1:11, and 1:13 for day, evening, and midnight shifts, respectively, while district hospitals will aim to achieve ratios of 1:10, 1:13, and 1:15 for the same shifts.
The plan outlines incentives for healthcare facilities that achieve the new ratios and also creates a new model aiming to improve working conditions for nurses.
It also establishes measures including new training practices for clinical nurses and standardized examinations. Nurses will also be entitled to better pay when working night shifts.
Director of Nursing for the Ministry of Health Tsay Shwu-feng (蔡淑鳳) said at a press conference following Thursday’s Cabinet meeting that working conditions are driving nurses away. She said some nurses are unable to find a work-life balance, and that the majority of nurses leaving their jobs are between the ages of 30 and 35.
Tsai said that given Taiwan is on track to become a “super-aged society,” solutions to the nurse shortage must be found.
