Message from the Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer
Dear Nurses and Midwives
Happy New Year!
For me, the start of a new year is always time for reflection and goal setting
2020, the International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife, and what a year it was, although nothing like what we expected. From the bushfires at the beginning of the year and throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we learnt more about ourselves, our communities and our professions and the strength and resilience we possess. I am extremely proud of all nurses and midwives in Australia for your commitment and dedication to providing quality health care to our communities during what was a tremendously challenging year.
My small team and I, spent much of the year providing advice to all levels of Government on nursing and midwifery. We participated in a number of international events (without any jet lag), all made possible with video conferencing, some late nights and early mornings with numerous press conferences, webinars, advertisements and live streams on social media. I spent five weeks in Victoria during their second wave and then two weeks in home quarantine on my return to Canberra.
It was pleasing to see nursing recognised in the Budget with measures announced to increase the skills, knowledge and capabilities of nurses working in Aged Care. My team are working with the Aged Care team to implement the measures including developing a Transition to Practice Program for Aged Care; and skill development programs for nurses and personal care workers in Aged Care. We also saw an expansion to the scholarship funding from the Government administered by the Australian College of Nursing which now includes a completion bonus. Congratulations to the recipients of the scholarships.
2020 was a very difficult year for many people, I urge you to use this time of reflection to check in with yourself and others. There are many resources available, which are provided in this newsletter, to support you and your colleagues if/when you need it.
2021 has started with a continued focus on COVID-19 vaccines and the rollout across Australia. Nurses and midwives will play a pivotal role in delivery of the vaccine to the community and my team and I are working closely with the COVID-19 Vaccine Taskforce as we prepare for the rollout.
The Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer Division’s goals for the year are:
- A nurse-led, safe, high quality model of care for older Australians
- Development of National Nursing Strategy – to enable nurses (and midwives) to work to their full scope of practice in primary care, mental health and aged care.
- Nurses and midwives are skilled to enable Australians to achieve and maintain their mental health and well-being.
- Better representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the nursing and midwifery workforce
I wish you all a happy and healthy 2021. Remember to take care of yourselves and look out for others. Practice physical distancing, frequently wash your hands and follow the advice and instructions of your local government.
Alison
Are you a Nurse Practitioner, Practice Nurse or Midwife?
Services Australia have launched the Health Professional Education Resources Gateway has a great range of new e-Learning modules and other education resources to help you with Medicare claiming. Please use the following links to access those resources targeted for you:
Eligible Midwife e-Learning: http://medicareaust.com/MODULES/MBS/MBSM48/index.html
Nurse Practitioner e-Learning: http://medicareaust.com/MODULES/MBS/MBSM47/index.html
Practice Nurses information sheet: http://medicareaust.com/INFO/MBS/MBSM49INFO1.pdf
Advanced Nursing Practice Guidelines
The Advanced Nursing Practice - Guidelines for the Australian Context by the Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officers Australia has been produced to reduce confusion about the scope of advanced nursing practice roles and provides greater clarity and understanding for nurses, employers, consumers and policy makers.
Infection Prevention and Control in Residential Aged Care
Best Wishes to all the aged care nurses currently undertaking training to step into the Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) lead position. This role will ensure that every residential aged care facility has on site expertise in IPC. Effective IPC capability is critical to minimising the risk of infections, and timely response to outbreaks that do occur, in order to keep residents and staff healthy and safe.
Education program to help improve care with dementia
NPS MedicineWise has been engaged by the Commonwealth Department of Health to deliver an education program to support health professionals working in residential aged care.
A new webinar, Dementia: a multidisciplinary approach to caring for people with changed behaviours, is now available for you to access anytime using this link: https://www.nps.org.au/cpd/activities/dementia-caring-for-people-with-changed-behaviours
Mental Health Resources
The Australian Government has a raft of projects and resources available to support you and your colleagues as front line health workers.
There is the factsheet: Coronavirus help when you need it - supporting your mental health online at the Department of Health as well as:
- The Black Dog Institute is leading a dedicated program tailored for the wellbeing of front line health workers. The Black Dog e-health hub (TEN – The Essential Network) is available as an App in both the Apple Store and the Google Play Store and online at www.blackdoginstitute.org.au/ten/.
- Smiling Mind is providing front line health workers with free access to their premium App which offers practical tools to support good mental health. The Smiling Mind app is available for download in the Apple Store and Google Play store or you can access this through the website at: www.smilingmind.com.au/smiling-mind-app.
- CRANAplus (crana.org.au/) provides mental health training to health professionals supporting drought and bush fire affected communities, including online workshops, podcasts and webinars providing mental health guidance from a range of specialists.
- Phoenix Australia – the Centre for Post-traumatic Mental Health has a digital training platform to provide support and resources for health professionals who support individuals and communities affected by disasters and traumatic events. These resources are available at: https://www.phoenixaustralia.org/resources/bushfires/
- Face to face, digital and telephone mental health services are accessible by all Australians including front line health workers. These include Beyond Blue, headtohealth.gov.au, Lifeline and others.
Open consultations
Help shape Australia's first Primary Healthcare Standards
There is still time to provide input on Australia’s first safety and quality standards for the primary healthcare sector.
The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care public consultation on the draft National Safety and Quality Primary Healthcare (NSQPH) Standards has been extended until Friday 29 January 2021.
National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workforce Strategic Framework and Implementation Plan 2021-2031
By 2031, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people will represent 3.43% of the Australian working age population (ages 15-64). The National Workforce Plan aims to increase Indigenous employment in the health workforce to reach 3.43% parity.
The draft National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workforce Strategic Framework and Implementation Plan 2021-2031 (National Workforce Plan) is an example of national Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health policy jointly co-designed, owned and implemented in partnership between governments and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community controlled health sector.
The National Workforce Plan has been prepared to support multiple Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander policy reforms, including the National Agreement on Closing the Gap 2020 and the new National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Plan.
The National Workforce Plan includes a wide range of actions that can be implemented at a national, jurisdictional or regional level across the health system, to support the attraction, recruitment and retention of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people across the health workforce.
Following the national online consultation, the National Workforce Plan will be finalised and progressed for government endorsement in May 2021.
If you would like to review or comment on the National Workforce Plan or have any questions please contact the National Workforce Plan Secretariat at: NATSIWorkforcePlan@health.gov.au
But be quick as the national consultation closes on 15 February 2021.
Development and implementation of the Aged Care Transition to Practice Program
The Department of Health is seeking organisations and/or established or future consortia to lodge tenders to develop and deliver an evidence-based Aged Care Transition to Practice (ACTTP) Program.
Announced in the 2020-21 Budget, the ACTTP program will assist graduate nurses by providing the support needed to develop their knowledge, skills and competence in the delivery of quality aged care services. It will be designed to attract and retain new nurses to the aged care sector by offering access to important mentoring and training opportunities.
The request for tender is currently open and available on the AusTender website.
Tenders must be received by 2pm on 17 February 2021.
Mailbox
The CNMO Newsletter is now available online at the Department of Health website. If you are interested to receive your own copy subscribe to our newsletter.
If you have any feedback or would like to contact the Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer or her team, please email the CNMO mailbox.
