Rural Health Workforce Audit 'Screams' For Health Reforms, Australia

Main Category: Nursing / Midwifery
Article Date: 30 Apr 2008 - 4:00 PDT

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The rural health workforce audit demonstrates clearly that nurses and midwives are "holding the fort" in rural and remote primary health care, yet professional boundaries, legislative barriers, and lack of support are hampering effective delivery of care.

Whilst the report shows that there is not a per capita discrepancy of nurses and midwives across metropolitan and rural areas, it doesn't reflect the reality of what rural and remote area nurses and midwives cope with on a daily basis.

The ANF welcomes the Federal Government's focus on rural and remote health and the establishment of a department to specifically deal with reforms in the area. Issues that need immediate attention are:

- Abolishment of single nurse posts and adequate OHS measures for nurses and midwives in remote communities;

- Ensure incentives available to doctors are also available to nurses, midwives and other health professionals;

- Locum relief to undertake professional development;

- Access to IT resources;

- Reform of the MBS and current legislation to allow nurse and midwife practitioners to access PBS and to order diagnostic procedures; and,

- Expansion of innovative models of care that are patient centred and based on a multidisciplinary approach.

Ged Kearney, ANF Federal Secretary will be available for comment regarding the audit.

The ANF, representing nearly 160,000 members, is the professional and industrial voice for nurses and midwives in Australia.

Australia Nursing Federation