ANF Welcomes Health Ministers' Focus On Primary Care, Australia

Main Category: Nursing / Midwifery
Also Included In: Primary Care / General Practice
Article Date: 04 Feb 2008 - 1:00 PDT

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Nurses should play a key role in the provision of primary health care services and reform of the national health system, the Australian Nursing Federation (ANF) said in welcoming the Australian Health Ministers' Joint Communiqué.

Ged Kearney, acting ANF Federal Secretary, welcomed the focus on the health system as a whole incorporating primary care and aged care into the Australian Health Care Agreements and the commitment to end the 'blame game' outlined in the Communiqué.

A major challenge for future health reform will be resolving the looming nursing workforce shortage in the aged care sector, Ms Kearney said.

The ANF says that there is increasing evidence of rapidly rising numbers of older Australians requiring care and a decrease in the number of qualified nursing staff.

"The numbers of qualified registered nurses and enrolled nurses employed in aged care has dropped by 21% since 1995 despite an increase in resident numbers and dependency.

"Our aged care nurses currently earn a great deal less than their colleagues in the hospital sector. There is no good reason for this disparity and resolving the wages gap in aged care should be a priority for our new federal government," Ms Kearney said.

The ANF is calling for:

- the establishment of dedicated funding to close the wages gap where nurses in aged care currently earn up to $20,000 per annum or $250 per week less than their colleagues in other areas;

- the licensing of all direct care staff; and

- the establishment of minimum nursing staff levels and an appropriate skill mix of direct care staff, and registered and enrolled nurses throughout the aged care workforce.

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

Australian Nursing Federation

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