The recommendations of the ‘Unleashing the Potential of our Health Workforce’ Scope of Practice Review’ Final Report (‘Report’), allowing highly-trained nurses, midwives and allied health professionals to best utilise their skills, education and extensive experience, provides an important new framework for the delivery of integrated, quality healthcare services across the community, according to the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF).
The ANMF welcomed several of the key reforms for the health workforce, including allowing NPs, remote area nurses and endorsed midwives, to make direct referrals for a wider range of procedures and services with MBS rebates, without the need for their patients to first-see a GP.
“We believe removing existing barriers, restrictions and inconsistencies, which have, for too long, prevented nurses and midwives from working to their full capabilities, will certainly help people in the community access and receive quality healthcare services, when and where they need it, without any financial hardship,” ANMF Federal Secretary, Annie Butler, said today.
“It’s just common-sense that a NP or a remote area nurse in a rural or rural setting should be able to order blood tests or an x-ray, without people having to drive long-distances to get a doctor to sign a form. These reforms will finally provide the broader community with integrated, efficient healthcare services, which are so badly needed in many rural and remote and Indigenous communities, where acute workforce shortages continue to impact care outcomes.”
Ms Butler said the ANMF also supported the recommendation for a new ‘bundled’ payment for maternity services, including midwifery continuity of care models, traditional midwife plus medically led models, or GP shared care models.
The proposed payment model, based on international models, would enable the maternity care team to work to their full scope when they practice across different parts of the health care system, which currently operates under separate funding arrangements, and reduce inefficiencies in the healthcare budget, caused by current MBS arrangements.
“The ANMF is analysing the full-detail of the Final Report and how it impacts our members and the people they care for, but we believe that allowing our highly-qualified nurses and midwives to work to their full scope and the breadth of their experience is a first-step in building a stronger, fairer healthcare system for all Australians,” Ms Butler added.
“Many of the recommendations align with the ANMF’s draft policies and submissions for the introduction of innovative multi-disciplined and nurse-and-midwife-led models of care. We now look forward to working with the Albanese Government, other nursing and midwifery peak organisations and key stakeholders to deliver these meaningful reforms for the benefit of the nursing and midwifery workforce and the community.”
The ANMF thanked Review Lead Professor Mark Cormack and his team for their work on the Report.
