Chief Nursing and Midwifery Office

The CNMO functions within the framework of the Department of Health as system manager for the nursing and midwifery workforce. The DOH supports the Director General to perform all the legislative functions under the Health Services Act 2016. It is our responsibility to provide high quality advice to the Director General and Minister for Health regarding all aspects of the nursing and midwifery workforce.

A key priority for the CNMO is creating capability and capacity in our professions to meet the evolving needs of the WA community.

Developed in 2018, the WA Health Nursing and Midwifery Strategic Priorities 2018-2022 (PDF 236KB) have guided the strategic direction of the nursing and midwifery professions in Western Australia. The Chief Nursing Midwifery Office and the WA Health Nursing and Midwifery Advisory Council are responsible for monitoring and reporting upon progress of these priorities.

To ensure that these priorities remain positioned to direct contemporary and future focused nursing and midwifery strategic direction, it is timely that they are reviewed, and align with the Sustainable Health Review and overarching national and international healthcare policy.

Considerable consultation has been undertaken with the nursing and midwifery workforce, and senior leaders within the WA public healthcare sector. Collation of feedback received is currently underway, which will further inform the development of the strategic priorities for the next five years.

Further comments or queries can be directed to nursingandmidwiferywa@health.wa.gov.au.

In February 2020, the Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer responded to a Ministerial Request to provide an overview of the nursing and midwifery professions in Western Australia (WA). The planned release for the discussion paper was delayed due to the COVID pandemic and WA Health’s preparation for the predicted public health emergency.

The Nursing and Midwifery in Western Australia: A Discussion Paper (PDF 1MB) is designed to encourage discussion and debate. A comprehensive review of the sector will include a Statewide roundtable stakeholder event and the opportunity for all nurses and midwives to participate in an online survey.

This consultation will inform the terms of reference for an independent review of nursing and midwifery, the first of its kind in WA.

Dates for the roundtable stakeholder event and survey will be announced in the near future.

The WA Nursing and Midwifery Digital Health Strategy (PDF 1MB) paves the way to improving how healthcare services are delivered in Western Australia.

The Strategy aligns with the WA Health Digital Strategy 2020–2030 which challenges the WA health system to embrace digital innovations in the delivery of patient care, ensuring that consumers are at the heart of digital design.

The Strategy will aid the delivery of the Sustainable Health Review's Enduring strategy six (invest in digital health care and use data wisely) and seven (culture and workforce to support new models of care).

The WA health system is committed to maintaining a contemporary workload management model for nurses and midwives that strongly aligns with the principles of evidence-based staffing which best supports the State’s nurses and midwives in providing safe, high-quality and sustainable health care for all Western Australians.

Arising from the 2018 Enterprise Bargaining Agreement (EBA) negotiations, the WA Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer established the WA Nursing and Midwifery Workload Models Project Control Group to review nursing and midwifery workload management models.

The Western Australian Nursing and Midwifery Workload Models Project – Final Report (PDF 861KB) provides an overview of the WA Nursing Hours per Patient Day (NHpPD) methodology and a synopsis of nursing and midwifery workload management systems in the Victorian and Queensland public health sectors. The project outcomes will inform and justify the final recommendations.

This report will inform the Independent Review of the NHpPD workload management model. The Minister for Health has confirmed the appointment of Professor Phillip Della to undertake the independent review.