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.

In 2014, the WA Health Nursing and Midwifery Strategic Plan 2015-2017 was developed to set the State’s strategic priorities. Following on from the achievements of this plan the WA Health Nursing and Midwifery Strategic Priorities 2018-2021 has been developed in consultation with nurse and midwives across the state. The WA Health Nursing and Midwifery Strategic Priorities 2018-2021 is aligned to the WA Health Strategic Intent, national and international nursing and midwifery strategic priorities. It is well placed to be responsive to the recommendations of the Sustainable Health Review and support nursing and midwifery business and the valuable contribution that the professions make to the people of Western Australia that we are entrusted to care for.

The CNMO and WAHNMAC monitor and report progress of achievements in delivering upon the WA Health Nursing and Midwifery Strategic Priorities 2018-2021 (PDF 1MB).

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.