ANF and other unions slam Australia's treatment of refugees
The letter endorsed by ANF and 19 other Trade Unions and affiliated organisation leaders expresses concern at the growing stance of indifference towards asylum seekers by both sides of politics, calls for Australia to follow its obligations under international law and details the real security threats existing in Sri Lanka and Afghanistan. | Read more
Tell your MP: Respect refugees’ rights
Risking everything, they flee in the hope of reaching safety. And then, often only kilometres from freedom, their chance for a new life dissolves into despair.
By voluntarily signing the 1951 UN Convention on Refugees, Australia has signaled to the world its willingness to protect people fleeing from war, abuse and conflict. Now we are sending a dangerous message that the rights of refugees come second to domestic political agendas.
Treatment of asylum seekers
Unions support humane treatment of asylum seekers | Read more
She's the super nurse who saves millions
Meet the super nurse who saves the NSW Department of Health $1.5million a year by helping to keep our elderly out of hospital. Debbie Deasey is a nurse practitioner specialising in aged care and treating chronic illnesses who visits patients at their homes. | Read more
Nurses call for cap on aged-care numbers
Nurses are calling for a limit on the number of residents they look after in aged-care homes amid claims one nurse can be left to care for up to 80 people. | Read more
Pay equity - closing the pay gap by valuing women's skills
Pay equity - closing the pay gap by valuing women's skills - what is equal pay and why don't we have it? | Read more
Program launched to assess success of healthcare worker vaccination program for A(H1N1) influenza
The Influenza Specialist Group (ISG) has launched a project to assess the success of the health care worker vaccination program for A(H1N1) influenza. | Read more
ALERT: The Therapeutic Goods Administration has approved the Australian-made Panvax H1N1 Vaccine Junior for use in children from 6 months to 9 years of age for protection against the pandemic H1N1 influenza. Members are advised to be alert to differing dosages between children and adults, and between different age groups of children. Pre-filled syringes containing the specific dose for young children are available, however, multi-dose vials may also be used.
Landmark pay equity report highlights double jeopardy of caring for the elderly
Landmark pay equity report highlights double jeopardy of caring for the elderly | Read more | Read report
New national standards for nursing and midwifery courses
Australian Nursing and Midwifery Council (ANMC) supports safety and quality in nursing and midwifery care by launching new national standards for nursing and midwifery courses | Read more
Nurse practitioners under-used | Australian nurses under-employed
Surveys reveals that nurse practitioners are under-used | Read more and that Australian nurses are under-employed | Read more
Hiroshima meeting of the International Commission on Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament
NGO statement concerning the Hiroshima meeting of the International Commission on Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament | Read more
New Charter of Rights and Responsibilities for Community Care
Minister for Ageing, Justine Elliot marked International Day of Older Persons (1 October) by announcing that more than 64,000 older Australians receiving community care services will for the first time have a legislated charter of their rights and responsibilities. The new Charter of Rights and Responsibilities for Community Care applies to all recipients of Commonwealth Government funded community care packages and the people who provide them with those services. Read more
Swine flu vaccine rollout
The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) green lights pandemic flu vaccine Read more | Australia joins international effort to assist swine flu vaccine rollout Read more.
Pandemic Flu vaccine adminstration guidelines
Be aware - safe, competent practice requires that nurses and midwives only administer vaccinations that they have drawn up themselves Read more
Government announces important changes to working conditions for 457 temporary visa holders
The Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) has been reviewing the arrangements for 457 temporary visa holders over the last 12 months resulting in a number of significant changes as outlined below.
Market Rates
From 14 September 2009 if a nurse is granted a new 457 visa or moves to a new employer then their employer will be required to pay the nurse at the market rate upon commencement.
From 1 January 2010 all existing 457 visa holders will have to be paid at the market rate.
The market rate is calculated as the terms and conditions paid to comparable Australian nurses in that work place.
For most of the nursing industry the market rate will be defined by the relevant collective agreement in place. Where there is no collective agreement, the terms and conditions that are applicable to the Australian nurses in the workplace will determine the market rate.
Up until now nurses have had to be paid at the higher of the relevant CA or the previous DIAC Minimum Salary Level. For most nurses, the CA has been the higher rate of pay and this is the level that has been paid. Therefore, for most nurses this change will have little effect on their rate of pay.
However if a 457 visa holder:
- Has not been paid at the CA rate, or
- There are Australian citizen or permanent residents with comparable skills and experience on better terms and conditions
- Then their rate of pay may change after 1 January 2010.
Worker Protection and Employer Obligation
The Worker Protection Act 2008 introduces a number of obligations upon employers and gives DIAC the ability to sanction employers and impose civil penalties, including significant fines, on an employer who does not meet their obligations.
The obligations are outlined here: http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/_pdf/attachment-a.pdf
457 Visa Holders Changing Employers and New Visas
After 14 Sept 2009, if a visa holder requires a new visa to extend their stay in Australia or will be moving to a new employer, the employer’s market rate of pay will need to be in excess of $45,220. If it is not, then DIAC are unlikely to approve the new visa or work at the new employer.
457 nurses who are members of ANF can discuss these issues in more detail with their Branch advisers.
$5.1 million for better support for women with post and antenatal depression
ANF and CRCAH launch research paper - Improving the Patient Journey
Hospital reforms will save both lives and dollars
Simple changes to hospital admission policies for remote Aboriginal patients will lead to both significant financial savings and improved patient health outcomes according to new research released in Canberra on June 16.
Improving the patient journey: Achieving positive outcomes for remote Aboriginal cardiac patients is a study, by Flinders Medical Centre nurse Monica Lawrence, of the causes of high levels of surgery cancellations and no-shows by Aboriginal patients scheduled for heart surgery at the Flinders Medical Centre (FMC).
Ms Lawrence noticed that a significant number of Aboriginal patients were arriving for surgery with acute health related problems, other than their cardiac condition, which resulted in cancellations or long delays in treatment or surgery which in turn resulted in prolonged hospital stays and additional costs.
She found that in one month alone, 14 additional inpatient days resulted from inadequate pre-admission assessment of co-morbidities, costing an estimated $12,000 in direct costs and thousands of dollars more in lost surgical time and occupied beds.
Ms Lawrence found the delays were a result of poor communication between the surgery units, the Aboriginal patients and the patients’ clinics which led to surgery being scheduled without patients being properly informed and prepared for surgery.
As a result of Ms Lawrence’s study the FMC established a pilot Remote Area Nurse Liaison Service (RANLS) in early 2007 to coordinate pre-surgery care and travel between the cardiac unit and the patient’s local clinic and the results of this simple initiative have been profound.
For the period of 2005-2006, 21 patients out of 48 were “no shows”, however, since the pilot RANLS there have been no “no-shows” resulting in annual savings of almost $380,000.
Ms Lawrence said costs of this poor communication were more than financial and indicated a break down in the process of informed patient consent. “The fact that patients were arriving in Adelaide totally uninformed about their treatment and the need for them to be free of other complicating factors shows that the basic rules of consent are not being applied to Aboriginal patients,” she said.
“The lack of communication and coordination between clinics and urban hospitals about Aboriginal cardiac patients profoundly impacts on access, equity, safety and quality of care at all levels.”
Ms Lawrence’s study has been jointly published by the CRC for Aboriginal Health and the Australian Nursing Federation and the report was launched by ANF Federal Secretary, Ged Kearney on June 16 at Parliament House.
Ms Kearney said the nurses union was very supportive of the recommendations from the report and would be working to try and have them adopted in other states and territories.
“When you see the savings made by the Flinders Medical Centre from implementing Monica’s recommendations and then extrapolate these across all the other major metropolitan hospitals with remote Aboriginal surgery patients you can start to understand the enormous benefits that can be accrued from a very modest investment,” said Ged Kearney. “There are many hospitals in Adelaide, Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane where remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients are undergoing surgery so the savings across the country will be significant not to mention the huge benefits to patient care by the sort of improved liaison and coordination that Monica has recommended.
“The ANF is a strongly committed to closing the health gap in Australia and it is initiatives like this one which will make a difference. As a nurse myself I’m proud that this union is supporting Monica’s efforts,” said Ged Kearney.
Mick Gooda from the CRCAH said Monica’s study demonstrated that improvements to health outcomes for Aboriginal people can be made by reforms in the health system and that these reforms did not have to be expensive and complex.
“Monica saw a problem, put her mind to finding a solution and now all that the relevant health authorities need to do is take action and the benefits to Aboriginal health and the health budget’s bottom line will start to accrue,” said Mick Gooda. “This is practical research and problem solving at its best and there is no reason why the Flinders successes can’t be duplicated in other jurisdictions.”
Ms Lawrence said she was currently speaking with the NT Health Department about the Flinders trial being extended to all southern hospitals accepting NT patients.
For further information:
Improving the Patient Journey: Achieving Positive Outcomes for Remote Aboriginal Cardiac Patients report
Cooperative Research Centre for Aboriginal Health (CRCAH) website
ANF responds on Indigenous health
The Council of Australian Governments has acknowledged that the gap in health and life expectancy between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians remains unacceptable and that little progress has been made since 2001.
While investing in improved data collection may be necessary, it's vital that urgent action is taken to put services on the ground to improve Indigenous health outcomes. The commitment to closing the gap in Indigenous health has to move from rhetoric to action. A good first step would be a full audit of Indigenous health programs and a national roll-out of the most successful models across the country. This could also be applied to a range of social programs and projects in areas such as housing and employment.
There seems to be a reluctance at all levels of government to participate in a truly national approach to the issues confronting indigenous Australians. Many of the innovative services developed by nurses, midwives, GPs, Aboriginal health workers and allied health professionals are often overlooked. These services are cost-effective and operate on small economies of scale with very positive outcomes. By all means gather more statistics but, in the meantime, increase the availability of health services that have proven successful in Indigenous communities
This letter was published in The Weekend Australian 4 July 2009
What's working
Women For Wik have launched What's Working website to counter the unbalanced reporting and better inform people of real progress in areas where local control and involvement makes the difference.
Health professionals meet to discuss the road to collaborative health reform
ANF helps launch codes for nursing and midwifery practice
The ANF, Australian Council of Midwives (ACM), the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Council (ANMC), and Royal College of Nursing, Australia (RCNA) have developed a new set of codes Australian Nursing and Midwifery Codes of Ethics and Professional Conduct in consultation with nurses, midwives and health consumers.
The codes will provide a solid regulatory framework for nurses and midwives, guiding their practice to enable them to provide quality care through safe and effective professional work practices.
For further information or to access the codes please visit the ANMC website.
Nurses involved in pandemic preparations
The Australian Nursing Federation (ANF) and Royal College of Nursing, Australia (RCNA) are taking an active role in contributing to the development of national plans should an influenza pandemic emerge. | More information
Guiding principles to achieve continuity in medication management
Evidence from research into medication safety indicates that significant patient harm and sub-optimal use of medicines frequently result from the discontinuity that occurs when consumers move between different health care settings and health care providers. The Guiding principles to achieve continuity in medication management have been developed to provide assistance so that consumers can move safely and effectively among multiple health care providers and settings. | More information