28 October 2008

Nurse practitioner scholarships good step

The Australian Nursing Federation welcomed the federal government’s announcement of scholarships for nurse practitioner candidates today. Ged Kearney, ANF federal secretary said the scholarships were a good first step in encouraging more nurses to take up the advanced role.

“These scholarships will go some way to help increase the number of nurse practitioners who are available to ensure patients can access quality health care. However we must address the barriers to practice if we are to fully use the extensive skills of these highly educated and qualified nurses,” Ms Kearney said.

The ANF said the scholarships confirm that the federal government recognise the value nurse practitioners bring to health. However nurse practitioners are still not working to full capacity because of barriers created by current funding mechanisms, for example a lack of access to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS).

“While nurse practitioners are authorised to refer to other health professionals and prescribe some medications, there is currently no mechanism that allows their patients to claim any subsidy from the PBS, as this is limited to medical practitioners.”

“Expansion of the role of these expert clinicians requires patient access to reimbursement from the PBS,” Ms Kearney said.

The federal government has placed an emphasis on improving patient access to health care and reducing waiting lists. Considerable evidence demonstrates that nurse practitioners not only improve access to a wide range of health services but provide quality, safe and effective care. 

“This government has demonstrated an appetite for tackling health reform; the time is now right to engage nurse practitioners in providing the community with greater access to and equity within the public health system.

25 October 2008

Qld nurses to launch 12-month campaign to finally solve the nurse shortage

Queensland needs an extra 14,000 nurses within six years. Piecemeal approach to the problem must end.

The Queensland Nurses Union (QNU) will tomorrow (26 October) launch a 12-month campaign aimed at finally forcing governments and health and aged care employers to properly address the nurse shortage before shortages reach crisis levels in the next few years.

The 12-month Nurses. For You. For Life. campaign starts with a $500,000 Statewide television and newspaper advertising campaign, which starts in Brisbane, Wide Bay and Rockhampton this weekend. Other regional centres start in the next few weeks.

This initial advertising is aimed at getting the community, governments and health and aged care employers to focus on the issue and then getting governments and employers to commit to developing a comprehensive workforce plan, which ensures we have enough nurses to run our health and aged care services.

QNU secretary, Gay Hawksworth, said it is time for everyone, including governments, the media, employers and educators, to start to take this issue very seriously, because there is a lot at stake if we don’t get and keep more nurses.

“This is the first campaign of this type ever run by Queensland nurses, who in the past have tended to concentrate on wages and workplace campaigns. However, the situation is so serious, and the lack of substantive coordinated action so glaring, that Queensland nurses have decided to do something about it and quickly,” Ms Hawksworth said.

“The piecemeal approach to this problem must end and it is time to get serious. As the advertisements suggest, the consequences of not developing a comprehensive workforce plan for nursing are not worth thinking about. As part of this campaign the QNU has developed an action plan, to start widespread discussion, for dealing with the problem.

“Even people with private health insurance should not think they are immune from this developing crisis. I know that is an overused word, but there is no other word in this case. Most people are already shocked at the low nurse staffing levels in private hospitals. And the serious problems in aged care caused by the nurse shortage are already evident.

“Despite numerous campaigns and programs over the last five to ten years, including wages and career promotional campaigns, the nurse shortage in Queensland, and Australia, is far from resolved. It is actually threatening to get significantly worse, which is something that poses a serious risk to our society.

“In fact, 60 per cent of current Registered and Enrolled Nurses in Queensland will be at retirement age some time in the next 20 years.

“Based on population growth projections Queensland will need at least another 14,000 nurses by 2014 and 22,000 by 2020 (see ABS projections attached). Unfortunately there is no proper workforce plan in place, at a State or national level, to achieve anything like those numbers. And let’s not beat around the bush here. That means services will close, others will be compromised and much-needed new services will struggle to find staff.

“Queensland is already behind the rest of Australia in terms of Registered Nurse numbers per head of population and is overrepresented in the unlicensed Assistant in Nursing category. Of the 16,100 AINs in Australia in 2006, Queensland had a massive 7300 or nearly 50 per cent (see ABS figures attached). This points to a serious skill mix problem, as well as a numerical problem, within the Queensland nursing workforce.

“The Nurses. For You. For Life campaign is aimed at finally bringing the issue to a head within the next 12 months,” Ms Hawksworth said.

24 October 2008

Prince of Wales ED “critically unsafe”

Nurses issued eight Severity Assessment Codes on Wednesday

Conditions in the emergency department (ED) of Sydney’s Prince of Wales Hospital have deteriorated to the point that they are critically unsafe for patients and staff, the NSW Nurses Association (NSWNA) said today.

NSWNA assistant secretary, Judith Kiejda, said a shortage of experienced senior medical staff in the ED is frustrating nurses’ attempts to care for patients in a timely manner.

“For some inexplicable reason vacant medical shifts remain unfilled, even though the NSWNA understands there are doctors available. For some reason the shifts aren’t being covered,” Ms Kiejda said.

“This has caused patient waiting times to blow out as nursing staff struggle to get patients seen. Things are so bad that on Wednesday (22 October) nurses issued eight Severity Assessment Code notifications of high risk in the ED. The Severity Assessment Code is a matrix that quantifies the level of risk associated with an incident by giving the incident a numerical rating.

“Prince of Wales nurses are terrified that a patient will suffer because of this dangerous working environment. The fact is, patients are waiting unnecessarily and their safety is being compromised.

“In response, increasing numbers of patients are becoming agitated and distressed and the nursing staff are bearing the brunt of an increase in aggressive behaviour,” Ms Kiejda said.

NSWNA members at Prince of Wales met yesterday afternoon (23 October) to discuss the seriousness of the situation and gave hospital management until next Tuesday (28 October) to fill the vacant medical positions and, as per the risk assessment conducted earlier this year, place a permanent uniformed security presence in the ED.

They will start industrial action if this timeline, to improve patient and staff safety, is not met by hospital management.

1 October 2008

Nurses ask Deputy Prime Minister – ‘help save our nursing awards.’

The Australian Nursing Federation (ANF) and nurses are worried that, as part of the federal government’s award modernisation process, the future of their nursing awards is at risk and they are calling on Julia Gillard to reiterate her support for occupational awards.

As part of a united national campaign run by the ANF, over 6500 petitions have been signed by nurses appealing to the president of the AIRC to consider maintaining a nursing occupational award.

Ged Kearney, ANF Federal Secretary said nurses are concerned that the AIRC will make the decision to replace nursing awards with generic industry awards.

“Nurses want to work under an occupational award because nurses contribute to all areas of health care, including working in businesses, aged care, the community and hospitals. Also, importantly, many nurses can be employed in multiple areas, for example aged care and community care or public and private sectors and they identify strongly with their nursing profession wherever they work.”

If nurses are forced into generic industry awards with non-specific career structures and minimum conditions of employment, health care standards, patient and resident care standards will be further reduced, particularly in aged care.

“The best way to protect nurses' wages and conditions is by continuing under a nursing award. This is supported by the ACTU who support the status quo where possible, and therefore support maintaining an occupational award for nurses.”

Ged Kearney said that aged care is of particular concern with the pay and conditions of all aged care nursing employees including registered nurses, enrolled nurses and assistants in nursing, being far behind that of their colleagues in other sectors.

Nurses know their awards are the safety net that links all nurses as one profession protecting important things like career structures and minimum conditions, wherever they work.