Better Health Care Depends On A Greater Role For Nurse Practitioners And Improved Wages In Aged Care, Australia

Main Category: Nursing / Midwifery
Also Included In: Seniors / Aging;  Primary Care / General Practice
Article Date: 24 Jan 2008 - 4:00 PDT

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The Australian Nursing Federation budget submission emphasises the need for better primary care with more efficient use of nurse practitioners and better pay for nurses in aged care.

Ged Kearney, ANF Acting Federal Secretary, said it was well established that nurse practitioners deliver competent, quality care in all areas of health but they are being under utilised because of limitations to their role, including not being able to prescribe medicines or access Medicare funding directly.

"Allowing only doctors access to the Pharmaceuticals Benefits Scheme (PBS) and Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) is a total misuse of available workforce resources," Ms Kearney said.

A recent study completed by the Federal government and ACT Health (yet to be published) found the role of nurse practitioners in aged care was significantly hindered by the lack of access to PBS and MBS.

The Federal government also needs to ensure that aged care has appropriate numbers of qualified nurses to deliver safe care and ultimately prevent hospital admissions. "Aged care is not as simple as offering a bit of assistance here and there. Older people often have complex health problems that require specialist nursing care," Ms Kearney said. "In a tight labour market it is difficult for the aged care sector to attract suitably qualified nurses to work for significantly lower wages. Nurses in aged care earn on average $20,000 less per annum than nurses working in other sectors."

With a strong commitment to health reform, the time is right for the Federal government to expand the nurse practitioner role improving the efficiency of the public health system and to guarantee adequate numbers of nurses working in aged care by ensuring decent pay and conditions.

The ANF budget submission also calls for federal government funding to:

- improve undergraduate and enrolled nurse education;
- increase postgraduate scholarships;
- address occupational health and safety issues, in particular violence and aggression towards nurses and unacceptable rates of back injury; and
- instigate health equality initiatives for Indigenous Australians.

Click here to view the ANF budget submission.

The ANF, representing 150,000 members, is the professional and industrial voice for nurses and midwives in Australia.

Australian Nursing Federation