Released 10/07/2024
The ACT Government continues to support the safety of hospital staff, patients and visitors by expanding the rollout of the Safewards model in 2024.
Safewards is an evidence-based model that encourages teams, consumers, carers and families to work together to make wards safer for the health workforce and their patients.
Research has shown that the Safewards interventions ensure staff, patients and carers are supported, reducing potential conflict and rates of occupational violence and restrictive practices.
This includes measures such as:
- staff and patients agreeing on mutual expectations of each other in the hospital environment,
- finding more positive ways to de-escalate situations when patients are in distress, and
- making sure patients get support before they receive bad or surprising news to limit the distress the person or their families may experience.
Following a successful trial in four wards across Canberra Health Services, the Safewards model has been implemented across a further four wards, including medical and mental health units, and will continue rolling out across public inpatient wards in the coming years.
Working closely with the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation ACT Branch, the Nurses and Midwives Towards a Safer Culture ‘The Next Steps’ Strategy will enable 12 wards to implement the model by June 2026, supported by an investment of $4.7 million from the ACT Government.
Minister Stephen-Smith said the Safewards rollout is an important part of the ACT Government’s continued investment in its nursing and midwifery workforce to ensure staff are supported and feel safe to continue to deliver the best care to the Canberra community.
“Today, on International Safewards Day, we acknowledge the vital work that is being achieved collaboratively, by our healthcare workers, patients, their families, carers and support workers to ensure everyone’s safety and care is prioritised,” Minister Stephen-Smith said.
“Implementing Safewards is about promoting a positive environment with a culture of safety for everyone. We’ve seen that this initiative promotes care that is person-centred, trauma-informed, and recovery orientated.”
An initial pilot of the Safewards Model in 2021 found:
- more than half of Safewards nurses thought that the model of care had had an impact on conflict and containment in their workplace
- two out of three Safewards nurses thought their colleagues viewed Safewards favourably, and
- nearly half of all Safewards nurses had heard positive consumer/patient feedback.
The Next Steps Towards a Safer Culture Strategy follows on from the Nurses and Midwives: Towards a Safer Culture – The First Steps Strategy, launched in 2018, which aimed to decrease occupational violence and improve workplace safety for nurses and midwives.
The Towards a Safer Culture Strategy is one example of the ACT Government’s focus on supporting our nurses and midwives.
This includes more than $86 million in the 2024-25 ACT Budget to recruit 137 new full-time equivalent nurses and midwives to implement phase two of Mandated Minimum Nurse/Midwife-to-patient ratios, which also support our commitment to better working conditions.
For more information on Safewards go to health.act.gov.au/safewards.
Quotes attributable to Anne Corney, Assistant Director of Nursing at Canberra Health Services:
“Safewards is a great initiative because it helps us to address patients’ concerns before they get worse.
“For staff one of the best things about Safewards is that it helps us to get to know about the patient’s life outside of hospital and this makes our work more meaningful.”
- Statement ends -
Rachel Stephen-Smith, MLA | Media Releases