New figures show women are presenting to emergency departments with preventable health issues, while highly trained primary health care nurses remain sidelined from delivering essential women's health checks.
The AIHW Hospitals at a Glance report, released today, found that diseases of the genitourinary system – such as urinary tract infections and pelvic pain - are the third most common reason for women to present at emergency departments.
At the same time, data from the Australian Primary Health Care Nurses Association (APNA) 2024 Primary Health Care Nursing and Midwifery Workforce Survey reveals that only one in five (21%) primary health care nurses regularly perform women's health checks, and in general practice, the figure is just 23%—despite 30% of nurses wanting to do more of this vital preventative care.
Ken Griffin, CEO of the Australian Primary Health Care Nurses Association (APNA), said nurses could be helping to manage women's health issues before they escalate, but they're being held back.
"Women should be able to access routine health checks in their community before things get worse and they present at an emergency department, but right now, that's not happening," Mr. Griffin said.
"We've got thousands of highly trained nurses who could be performing breast exams, pap smears, blood pressure checks, and sexual health screenings—but half of them rarely or never get the chance. That just doesn't make sense."
"It's a missed opportunity—women aren't getting preventative care, and hospitals are filling up with cases that could have been managed by nurses earlier."
A women's health check includes procedures led by a nurse, such as:
- Breast exams
- Pap smears
- Blood pressure checks
- Sexual health discussions
- Family history reviews
- Blood tests and cholesterol checks.
Yet despite the clear benefits, APNA's Primary Health Care Nursing and Midwifery Workforce Survey shows half (50%) of primary health care nurses rarely or never perform them.
With Primary Health Care Nurses Day on 5 February, APNA is calling for policy changes that allow nurses to do more in women's health and improve access to early intervention.
"We have the workforce, and primary health care nurses have the - skills—now we just need the system to support nurses to do the work they're trained for," Mr. Griffin said.
"We have nurses who are still waiting for the prescribing rights Australia's Health Ministers promised them.
"Nurses are ready to step up – and we're inviting Australia's Health Ministers to do the same." Mr. Griffin said.
