CPSU wants more health workers to address 'workforce crisis'

The union has kicked off a campaign, saying the demand for health care exceeds the current staff.

The union surveyed more than 600 of its members across the territory's public service, including those who weren't health care workers, and the survey showed an overwhelming number of respondents said more health workers was their top issue.

CPSU ACT regional secretary Maddy Northam said something needed to be done to address staff shortages.

"CPSU members and the Canberra community want to know that something will be done to address the growing workforce crisis in the next term of government," she said.

Ms Northam said the union was organising a series of meetings between its members and Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith so that health workers could tell the government about the issues faced due to understaffing.

She said health workers were being consistently bombarded with messages to cover shifts and she said understaffing was leading to delayed care for patients.

"Every day we hear stories of members getting called, texted, asking them to come in and do overtime shifts, more and more shifts because they just haven't got enough staff to cover," she said.

"What patients might face is delayed appointments, so they might need an appointment next week but they might have to wait a month or two or much longer to get that appointment and then the same with subsequent appointments.

"That's really distressing for patients and their families to see their loved ones not getting all of the care they could potentially get if they had the right amount of staff."

A new critical services building is due to open at Canberra Hospital from August which will expand a number of services.

Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith said she appreciated the call for more health care workers.

"We absolutely recognise that this is what their members have identified as the number one priority for CPSU members in the ACT," she said.

"We'll continue to work with the union and with their members on what they're seeing as the demands across our health system."

Ms Stephen-Smith said there was an overseas recruitment campaign underway with health authorities targeting workers from New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Ireland.

"We've really seen a very positive response to that," she said.