New standards on personnel assignment ratios in compliance with new hospital rotation schedules and cash rewards to incentivize staff to be more willing to work night and graveyard shifts are to take effect on March 1, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said yesterday.
It is hoped the standards could balance the ratio of medical personnel to patients in a manner that reduces stress for personnel, while addressing the issue of a short-staffed medical industry, Minister of Health and Welfare Hsueh Jui-yuan (薛瑞元) said at a news conference, adding that the version introduced referenced proposals submitted by the Taiwan Union of Nurses Association.
The ministry is setting aside a special budget of NT$4 billion (US$127.8 million) for monetary incentives for those working night shifts, he said.
Photo: Wu Liang-yi, Taipei Times
Night shift personnel would receive NT$400 to NT$600 per shift, while workers on graveyard shifts would receive NT$600 to NT$1,000 per shift, the ministry said, adding that the cash rewards would be paid out monthly by the National Health Insurance Administration.
If a nurse works 21 days a month, those willing to work night and graveyard shifts would receive an additional NT$6,400 to NT$21,000 per month, the ministry said.
The new shift standards are meant to encourage workers to work night and graveyard shifts, Hsueh said, adding that the ministry is not planning to draft a law on the issue.
In response, the Taiwan Union of Nurses Association yesterday said it was glad the government had taken note of the issue and was introducing measures to resolve it.
However, it is regrettable that the government has ignored the top four demands of the association and the medical industry — that all medical personnel across all shifts should receive cash awards, to prioritize personnel at medical facilities for cash awards and for hospitals to receive the cash awards and pay them to medical personnel, the association said.
The standards as proposed would only leave workers on day shifts feeling that they have been left out, it said, adding that the amount of cash should not be based on the level of a medical facility.
It said it was concerned the policy would create more inequality in shift rotations and encourage medical personnel to work for higher-level medical facilities.
The ministry separates medical facilities into four categories — medical centers, regional hospitals, local hospitals and clinics.
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