Premier of Victoria Daniel Andrews yesterday announced a $3,000 payment to all staff working in public hospitals and ambulance services in both clinical and non-clinical roles.

This includes not only nurses, midwives, doctors, allied health professionals, paramedics, ward clerks, patient services assistants, but also those working in cleaning, food services and laundry services.

The $3,000 Healthcare Worker Winter Retention and Surge Payment is part of a $353 million package aimed to shore up the state’s healthcare system ahead of what is anticipated to be a very challenging winter.

Over the past few months, health services have experienced challenges in filling night shifts, and so the package will also include free meals for workers who put their hands up to work overnight from July until the end of the year.

“I know nothing can return everything you’ve given up for all of us,” Premier Andrews wrote in a letter to health services this week.

“The split-shifts, the late nights and the missed weekends. We can’t give back the kids’ birthdays spent at work, or the holidays never taken.

But what we can do is this:

Firstly, and most importantly, we’re hiring more ambos, nurses and healthcare workers to lighten the load.

We’re investing in more beds, upgraded EDs and new hospitals, right across the state.

And today we’re announcing a $3,000 winter retention and surge payment for every worker in our public hospitals and ambulance services.

I know that it doesn’t begin to make up for the enormous sacrifice you have all made.

But I hope it shows how much we value the incredible work that you do.

And how important you are to our entire state.”

For more information about the Healthcare Worker Winter Retention and Surge Payment visit www.health.vic.gov.au/news/healthcare-worker-winter-retention-surge-payment