Professional News: June 2010

Aged care funding: heading in the right direction

The month of May brings a flurry of activity around the Federal Budget announcements. For the ANF this means making a submission to Treasury some months beforehand. Follow up lobbying of politicians and bureaucrats aims to highlight and reinforce our budget wish list for funding of initiatives to benefit nurses and midwives and those they provide care to.

In the lead up to this year’s Federal Budget there was particularly intense lobbying by Federal Office and ANF state and territory Branch officers and members across the country to make sure every politician received and understood the messages of our national Because We Care aged care campaign. This campaign is seeking equity in pay, education opportunities and standards frameworks for nurses and other care workers in the aged care sector. Beginning in 2009 the national campaign has been gathering momentum which has seen our ANF leaders in constant dialogue with political leaders. Our policy work, publications and oral presentations at a plethora of national forums have all delivered the same message – our frail older citizens deserve care that is provided by a workforce that has adequate numbers of educated and regulated nurses and other care workers; and, that the government has a responsibility to the community to fund initiatives to achieve that.

The Federal Budget, handed down on 11 May 2010, delivered on a range of measures which heads us in the right direction to better support nurses and other care workers in aged care. Funding is committed for: expanding and improving the role of nurse practitioners in aged care; education and upgrading of qualifications across all aged care worker categories; and exploring regulation of assistants in nursing and personal care workers in aged care. To better plan for aged care workforce needs into the future, funding is allocated to conduct a research study on staffing levels, skills mix and resident care needs in residential aged care facilities. There is still work to be done. We need to keep the pressure on the politicians. We need to keep our Because We Care messages front and centre in the minds of politicians, fund holders and policy makers. The ANF will raise this once again in consultations with the Productivity Commission and in our major submission to their recently announced inquiry into aged care.

International Nurses’ Day on May 12, marked Florence Nightingale’s birthday. Florence once said “Nursing is a thing, which, unless we are making progress every year, every month, every week, take my word for it, we are going back” (Whyte 2010). The package of measures for nurses announced in the Federal Budget (see article by Eleni Hale in the June edition of ANJ) indicate that we are moving forward.

Whyte, A. 2010. Relighting the lamp. Nursing Standard, 24(18):18-20.

Elizabeth Foley
ANF Federal Professional Officer