Professional News: July 2010

Progress in the policy

Topics for discussion at the recent RCNA Nursing Summit in Canberra included nurses making a difference to policy decisions and influencing health service delivery. There was much debate on the barriers and frustrations experienced by nurses in this area and strategies proposed to get more involved. After the Summit another RCNA document landed in my in-tray. It was a 1982 publication titled Australian Nurses’ Political Participation which addressed many of the same issues raised at the Summit. The strategies to get more involved were also the same. We need to articulate nursing’s contribution to society and what nurses can and do achieve.

We need clear messages, and we need to form national partnerships, we need to get involved in the discussions, and understand how policy decisions are made, we need to identify allies to our cause and be strategic in our purpose. If we’re still talking about the same issues and strategies 28 years on, have we progressed?

I would argue that nurses are now in a solid position to contribute to health policy and reform. Since the election of the current federal government, the pace of health reform has been hectic and the opportunities to participate overwhelming. This is a government that has shown it is prepared to listen to and invest in what nurses and midwives have to offer.

Although we need to be persistent in our endeavors, it’s also important to acknowledge and celebrate our successes. Last years’ federal budget included access to the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) and Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) for nurse practitioners and eligible midwives. This years federal budget announced in excess of $520 million for nursing initiatives in aged and primary health care. Our messages are clear and our hard work is paying off, with nurses’ and midwives’ contribution to health reform being publicly acknowledged.

This has been a direct result of the work the ANF has been doing using the strategies that were identified years ago. The ANF regularly meet with federal and state Health Ministers, to advocate for nurses, midwives, assistants in nursing and those for whom we provide care. We have formed national partnerships with our health professional colleagues and organisations with shared interests, undertaken collaborative projects and campaigns, represented nursing and midwifery at national forums, seminars, committees, think tanks and meetings, attended and spoken at international events, made numerous submissions to health consultations and given evidence at public hearings and inquiries.

The ANF has promoted the role of nurses and midwives in primary health care, aged care, quality use of medicines, e-health, nursing informatics and pandemic planning, just to name a few. We will continue to take these opportunities for nurses and midwives to influence policy direction and progress health care in Australia.

Julianne Bryce
ANF Federal Senior Professional Officer