07 August 2008

Minister advocates to extend role of nurses and midwives

NSW Minister for Health Reba Meagher today told nurses and midwives she will step up her campaign for them to have expanded roles in our hospitals in recognition of their enhanced skills.

While addressing the NSW Nurses' Association Annual Conference in Sydney, Ms Meagher said nurses and midwives are capable of taking on more responsibility in our health system.

"Doctors will always be responsible for important clinical decision-making and intervention, but in recent years our nurses and midwives have better clinical skills than ever before," Ms Meagher said.

"Nurses working in our emergency departments are understandably frustrated when patients turn up needing a new prescription, or have a common cold, and only a doctor can treat and discharge them.

"As our population ages, and gets sicker, we need to look at better ways to meet that increasing demand and nurses and midwives should be central in any new approach."

Ms Meagher said she fully supports the development of the National Primary Health Care Strategy by the Federal Government.

"I have told Minister Roxon that I agree with her suggestion that the time is right to extend prescribing rights for the Medicare and Pharmaceutical Benefits Schemes to nurses and I will continue to advocate for reform in this area," Ms Meagher said.

"Nurses and midwives are a pivotal component in our health system and are catalysts for finding solutions to improving health service provision.

"The Iemma Government recognises their invaluable contribution and this is underlined in the recent 7.95 per cent pay rise we negotiated for them over the next two years.

"We have now increased wages by 59 per cent since 1999 and our nurses and midwives in NSW are again the highest paid in the country."

Ms Meagher said the Iemma Government is also working hard to train, recruit and retain an educated and sustainable nursing and midwifery workforce.

"This is a major challenge for us in the face of a national and international shortage of nurses," Ms Meagher said.

"But we are making ground. The NSW nursing and midwifery workforce is now over 43,000, an increase of more than 9,000 since 2002, and I look forward to that number continuing to grow."

Over 500 nurses and midwives from across the state are attending the Annual Conference this week.

For a range of health information, go online to www.health.nsw.gov.au