There are fears casual and agency nurses could emerge as unexpected additions to the Centrelink queue, with their hours slashed as hospitals prepare for the worst of COVID-19.

Key points: Casual nurses have seen work dry up as elective surgeries are cancelled

Casual nurses have seen work dry up as elective surgeries are cancelled It comes as retired nurses are being urged to rejoin the health system

It comes as retired nurses are being urged to rejoin the health system The ANF says casuals should be retained ahead of the COVID-19 surge

Healthcare Australia (HCA), which recruits nurses for both the public health sector and private hospitals on a casual basis, has about 1,500 nurses on its books in Western Australia.

HCA WA general manager Stuart Webster said these workers' hours had been cut by around 50 per cent since February due to measures taken to prepare for the pandemic, such as the cancellation of non-urgent elective surgeries.

At the same time, the WA Government has launched a recruitment drive to bolster the state's health workforce.

Mr Webster said HCA agency nurses had been told to apply for JobKeeper payments if they were eligible or otherwise to enrol for JobSeeker entitlements if they found themselves out of work in the short-term.

An Australian Nursing Federation advert questions why nurses are being laid off when the health system is under strain. ( Supplied: ANF )

"The Government needs to plan and prepare, and we fully support what they are doing," Mr Webster said.

"It does have a short-term negative impact on the industry.

"But we have to be prepared or there will be a lot more lives lost. They are doing the right thing so that when it does hit, we are ready for it."

Mr Webster said HCA had experienced a five-fold increase in job applications.

"We had around 150 nursing applications over the weekend, which is significantly higher than you normally would expect," he said.

"There are just so many more people applying for jobs that normally you just would not get at this time of year, directly as a result of no work elsewhere.

"We are trying to support them as much as possible by sharing around the hours that we do have, but they are stressed and we understand that.

"We are trying to get them through this and as soon as we can get some more work, obviously we will be able to get them out into the workforce again as soon as possible."

Casual nurses' hours have been cut by around 50 per cent since February, Healthcare Australia says. ( ABC: Emma Wynne, file photo )

Shifts disappear as casuals feel the pinch

Registered nurse and midwife Frances* has been working as a casual at one of Perth's public hospitals for seven years.

On average she usually worked four days each week, but she said her shifts had started to disappear.

Hospitals are preparing for the spread of COVID-19 to put extra pressure on the system. ( AAP: David Mariuz )

"It has really just come to a head in the last week," she said.

"This week no-one is getting work. There is a lot of stress and anxiety. It is a limbo state.

"Then you see on the news that they are pulling people out of retirement and you think 'hang on a minute, we can't even work'.

"I understand the situation is difficult. I don't know the answer, but some communication and support [would help] for those nurses that rely on that income."

Nurses must be retained: ANF

Australian Nursing Federation (ANF) state secretary Mark Olson said casual nurses would not be eligible for JobKeeper payments because they were public sector workers.

"Most of their work has dried up and their hours have been slashed," he said

"These are the people we are going to need in the next four to eight weeks and beyond.

"We need to start thinking creatively, we need to start working out ways where we can hold onto these nurses and keep them getting some meaningful income so that they are not doing it tough as we wait for the surge in COVID-19 cases to come."

A spokeswoman for WA Health Minister Roger Cook said casuals were employed by WA Health in addition to the permanent workforce on an as-needs basis.

"We know that the number of casual shifts required has decreased due to the changes in hospital activity at the current time, mainly due to the reduction in elective surgery," the spokeswoman said.

"The Department of Health is working through these issues.

"While [casuals] are widely used, there is no guarantee of a definite number of shifts and the number of staff varies from hospital to hospital.

"WA Health is currently recruiting for the COVID pandemic, seeking suitably qualified health staff including enrolled nurses."

*Frances is a pseudonym used at the request of the nurse who spoke to the ABC on the condition on anonymity.