Government Must Recognise Nurses On International Nurses Day

Main Category: Nursing / Midwifery
Article Date: 12 May 2009 - 0:00 PDT

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International Nurses Day will showcase the "wonderful work, skills and care provided by our hard-working nurses", the Australian Nursing Federation (ANF) announced today.

"Australia's nurses work with people from when they are newborns right through to caring for our most frail and elderly, in the aged care sector," ANF federal secretary Ged Kearney said today.

"So on International Nurses Day, we want to acknowledge their special work and say a big thank to them all, you for the care they provide across the Australian community."

Ms Kearney said she hoped the Federal Government would also recognise the very special work of our nurses in the Budget.

"We continue to liaise with the Government over additional funding urgently required for the nursing industry across the board," she said. "The role that nurses play in delivering frontline health care across the community must be recognised in tonight's Budget.

The focus on International Nursing Day this year will be on the work of aged care nurses and nursing staff as part of their national Because We Care campaign.

Ms Kearney said the main aims of the campaign include:

- The right balance of skills and nursing hours so that nursing and care staff can provide quality care for every resident.
- Fair pay for aged care nurses and care staff who are paid up to $300 per week less than nurses in other sectors.
- Recognition of the professional skills of Assistants in Nursing and care staff through a national licensing system.
- A guarantee that taxpayer funding is used for nursing and personal care for each resident.

"We are desperate need of nursing staff with the right mix of nursing skills. Nurses working in aged care are paid $300 a week less than their counterparts in others sectors, which is one of main reasons we're having difficulty recruiting nursing staff to the industry" Ms Kearney explained.

"The ANF is also calling on the Federal Government for increased funding for aged care in Australia. Of course, we recognise that any increase in funding will mean greater accountability for that funding."

The ANF, with 170,000 members, is the professional and industrial voice for nurses and midwives in Australia.

Source
Australian Nursing federation