More than one in eight workers plan to leave Canberra’s crisis-plagued health system within two years, FOI documents obtained by the Canberra Liberals reveal.

The damning November 2021 workplace culture survey of 3852 Canberra Health Services (CHS) staff, including almost 1100 nurses and midwives, also reveals workers would not recommend their workplace as a good place to work.

“This report is a wake-up call for the Labor-Greens government that our health system is bleeding staff,” Shadow Health Minister Leanne Castley said.

“Nurses feel undervalued and are leaving in droves. No wonder Canberra has the worst emergency department and elective surgery wait times in the country.”

The survey of 3852 staff found:

• More than one in eight (13 per cent) intend to leave within two years, up from 12 per cent two years earlier;
• Only 39 per cent believe workloads are “fair and equitable;”
• Only 37 per cent say CHS recognises their achievements;
• Less than half (45 per cent) believe there are good career opportunities.

When asked if they would recommend CHS as a good place to work, the response was a negative rating of -15.1; more than double the November 2019 score of -7.2.