Nursing Groups Criticize Delay in Nurse-to-Patient Ratio Legislation, to Protest at Ministry of Health and Welfare on May 5
Taiwanese nursing groups have expressed dissatisfaction over delays in legislating the nurse-to-patient ratio and announced a protest at the Ministry of Health and Welfare on May 5. They demand substantive legislation and stronger penalties by May 20.
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- 📰 Published: April 30, 2026 at 18:34
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Taipei, April 30 (CNA) The fate of the three-shift nurse-to-patient ratio has become a focal point. The Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) has proposed a plan to revise the standards for establishing medical institutions, but nursing groups are dissatisfied, questioning the delay in the timeline and threatening to protest in front of the MOHW on May 5, demanding that the nurse-to-patient ratio be substantively legislated by May 20.
The Executive Yuan approved the "12 Strategies Plan for Nursing Workforce Policy Preparation" in July 2024, aiming for the nurse-to-patient ratio to be legislated within two years and achieved within four years. It also hoped to increase the number of practicing nurses and retention rates through three major strategic directions: talent cultivation, a positive workplace, and salary improvement, aiming to increase the nursing workforce by up to 70,000 by 2030.
With the two-year deadline approaching, Minister of Health and Welfare Shih Chung-liang recently stated that the MOHW will soon establish a "Medical Workforce Optimization Research and Promotion Task Force," with the nurse-to-patient ratio as the first issue. He explained yesterday that, in principle, the plan is to regulate it through the standards for establishing medical institutions authorized by the Medical Care Act, and discussions and revisions will be conducted.
However, the MOHW's statement sparked dissatisfaction in the nursing community. The National Nurses Association of the Republic of China issued a statement via a press release this evening, calling on the MOHW not to fall into the trap of employers' "false support, true circumvention of the law," rejecting "buffer periods without penalties" and "cheap alternatives." They urgently called for the "three-shift nurse-to-patient ratio" not to become an ATM for hospital employers.
The statement emphasized that the MOHW announced the three-shift nurse-to-patient ratio standards on March 1, 2024. This was a professional consensus formed after long-term cross-ministerial and cross-sector discussions. They demand that the "three-shift nurse-to-patient ratio" must be substantively legislated by May 20 this year, that penalties must have deterrent power, and that the calculation basis must be precise down to each shift.
The National Nurses Association plans to protest in front of the MOHW on May 5. The statement stressed that they will never accept employers' groups using the guise of "mutual trust in the medical community" to turn around and legally blackmail nursing rights. (Edited by Lee Heng-shan) 1150430
The Executive Yuan approved the "12 Strategies Plan for Nursing Workforce Policy Preparation" in July 2024, aiming for the nurse-to-patient ratio to be legislated within two years and achieved within four years. It also hoped to increase the number of practicing nurses and retention rates through three major strategic directions: talent cultivation, a positive workplace, and salary improvement, aiming to increase the nursing workforce by up to 70,000 by 2030.
With the two-year deadline approaching, Minister of Health and Welfare Shih Chung-liang recently stated that the MOHW will soon establish a "Medical Workforce Optimization Research and Promotion Task Force," with the nurse-to-patient ratio as the first issue. He explained yesterday that, in principle, the plan is to regulate it through the standards for establishing medical institutions authorized by the Medical Care Act, and discussions and revisions will be conducted.
However, the MOHW's statement sparked dissatisfaction in the nursing community. The National Nurses Association of the Republic of China issued a statement via a press release this evening, calling on the MOHW not to fall into the trap of employers' "false support, true circumvention of the law," rejecting "buffer periods without penalties" and "cheap alternatives." They urgently called for the "three-shift nurse-to-patient ratio" not to become an ATM for hospital employers.
The statement emphasized that the MOHW announced the three-shift nurse-to-patient ratio standards on March 1, 2024. This was a professional consensus formed after long-term cross-ministerial and cross-sector discussions. They demand that the "three-shift nurse-to-patient ratio" must be substantively legislated by May 20 this year, that penalties must have deterrent power, and that the calculation basis must be precise down to each shift.
The National Nurses Association plans to protest in front of the MOHW on May 5. The statement stressed that they will never accept employers' groups using the guise of "mutual trust in the medical community" to turn around and legally blackmail nursing rights. (Edited by Lee Heng-shan) 1150430