The Australian College of Nursing (ACN) welcomes the Prime Minister's $8 billion plan to cut out-of-pocket health care costs for consumers, but says it is only a short-term fix to the problems plaguing the health care sector.
"Nurses see first-hand how poor access to timely primary health care can lead to more serious conditions that can require hospital treatment," said ACN CEO Adjunct Professor Kathryn Zeitz FACN. "Immediate solutions to make a GP visit more affordable are welcome, but we cannot lose sight of the long-term reform that is needed to fix the sector."
"Despite being 54 per cent of the health workforce, nurses, nurse practitioners, and midwives are not being used to their full extent," she said. "One-third of nurses and midwives in primary health care rarely use all their skills to care for patients."
"The Federal Government has an excellent program of deep healthcare reform afoot. If implemented, it would allow Australia's nurses to work to their full ability. Nurses are Australia's most trusted carers – let's make nursing care more available."
Short-term measures to improve struggling bulk billing rates are welcome, but ACN is urging the government to continue to focus on its reform agenda and implement the recommendations of reviews including the Scope of Practice Review.
"The evidence is clear: nursing care today saves a hospital bed tomorrow," said Adjunct Professor Zeitz.
ACN welcomes the $600 million for 400 nursing scholarships, but it's a small step in what's needed to address the nursing workforce crisis. ACN has outlined a plan to attract and retain nurses and re-engage former nurses in its 2025-2026 Pre-Budget Submission.
"We need to do all we can to bolster the nursing workforce," said Adjunct Professor Zeitz. "Australia is going to need almost 80,000 more to fill the gap by 2035, unless we change course."
