24 Aug Sleep Enquiry
In January 2023 the Australasian Sleep Association (ASA) and Sleep Health Foundation submitted a policy proposal to the Australian Government responding to the current crisis in shift workers working in essential healthcare and aged care roles. This submission built upon the work done in a 2019 parliamentary enquiry into Sleep Health Awareness in Australia. In August 2023 the government responded, officially supporting 10 out of the 11 recommendations put forward in the 2019 parliamentary enquiry. You can find the links to these articles below
- Australian frontline health workers in one study reported mild to severe anxiety (60%), mild to severe depression (57%) and moderate to severe burnout (71%)
- 1% of Victorian health care and aged care workers surveyed reported emotional exhaustion reflecting moderate-severe burnout
- 46% of doctors in training in NSW hospitals reported making a fatigue-induced errors
- A recent systematic review and meta-analysis demonstrated that physicians experiencing burnout are twice as likely to be involved in patient safety incidents and more than three times as likely to have thoughts or intentions to leave their job
Interesting links:
2004: Access Economics report “Wake Up Australia: The Value of Healthy Sleep” Report
2019 Parliamentary enquiry into Sleep Health Awareness in Australia: Bedtime Reading
2021: Deloitte Economics report “Rise and Try to Shine”
2021: Deloitte Economics report “Asleep on the Job”
2021: Australian Institute for Health and Welfare: “Sleep Problems as a Risk Factor for Chronic Conditions”
2023: Federal Government Response to 2019 Parliamentary enquiry
2023: Policy submission for the Welfare Budget 2023, from Australasian Sleep Association “Better Sleep and Wellbeing for Healthcare Workers”