Message from the Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer

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Monthly newsletter from Alison McMillan, Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer

Message from the Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer

 

Dear colleagues,

This year is the 200th anniversary of the birth of Florence Nightingale - the world's most famous nurse and founder of modern nursing.

Her pioneering work was born out of crisis - war.  And so it is today that nurses around the world and in Australia are once again on the frontline and in a war - this time against the dreadful coronavirus.

Here in Australia, nurses are playing a critical role across the patient care spectrum.

Nurses are working in respiratory clinics, providing important support, comfort and guidance to people who are worried and frightened about whether they have COVID-19.  Nurses are delivering care to people in their homes so they can stay well - particularly people with chronic conditions.  In aged care, nurses are helping to put in place vital infection control processes to protect the most vulnerable.

Nurses are very much at the frontline in the intensive care units, where the nurse is the person who is at the bedside of the most vulnerable, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Nurses are the most valuable resource that the Australian Government is looking to tap into, if demand for hospital care puts strain on our health system and health workers, who everyday are saving and improving lives.

We are seeing midwives continue to provide vital services to the community. 

Pregnancy, birth and post-natal care don't stop with a pandemic. 

Midwives are working to ensure that all women have accessible, safe effective maternity care.

Health Minister Greg Hunt recently announced important initiatives to bolster the ranks of nurses around the nation. The government is funding up to 20,000 new online education places so that registered nurses can develop skills and knowledge to help in the delivery of care in intensive care and high dependency units across Australia.

This will allow experienced nurses to be used to maximum effect in the national response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and support a doubling in the number of intensive care beds in hospitals.  The government is also funding an online refresher course to help registered nurses, who may have recently left the clinical practice to refresh their skills to support the workforce.  These initiatives have the strong support of the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation, Australian College of Nursing and Australian College of Critical Care Nurses.

There has been a strong response from nurses, with both programs fully subscribed.  The speed of enrolments greatly exceeded expectations.

I am very heartened by this response - but certainly not surprised.  That so many nurses would put up their hands to be part of the fight against coronavirus is, simply, what nurses do.  It's in their DNA.

As we honour the work of nurses and midwives through the International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife and celebrate Florence Nightingale's pioneering work, it is worth remembering that the major focus of her care of wounded soldiers in the Crimean War was the importance of sanitation and hygiene, including handwashing.

Through simple improvements, she was able to cut the mortality rate massively.

Following the principles of good hygiene, particularly handwashing, is now at the very heart of our COVID-19 pandemic response.

We are back to the basics - and they're working, just as they did nearly two centuries ago.

Alison

 

COVIDSafe App

The Australian Government recently launched a new voluntary coronavirus app, COVIDSafe.

The app is an important public health initiative to help keep us safe from further spread of coronavirus through early notification of possible exposure.

COVIDSafe uses technology to automate and improve what state and territory health officials already do manually. It helps identify people who have been in close contact with someone diagnosed with COVID-19.

The more Australians who take this up, the more secure we are about our public health response.

You can download the app and access the collection of COVIDSafe app campaign resources that are free to use and share.

Did you know?   Information about COVID-19 and the COVIDSafe app is available in 63 languages on the Department of Home Affairs website.

 

COVID-19 Update

The evidence around COVID-19 is continuing to evolve daily. To assist professionals to stay current the Australian Government has funded the National COVID-19 Clinical Evidence Taskforce to deliver 'living guidelines'.  These provide world-first, continually updated evidence-based guidance to clinicians caring for patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 infection across primary, acute and critical care settings. The 'living guidelines' are available via covid19evidence.net.au

COVID-19 is acknowledged as a significant health risk particularly for the elderly and individuals with co-morbidities or low immunity. On 21 April, the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee released recommendations to assist residential aged care with vigilance in implementing measures to prevent introduction of COVID-19 into their facility. These recommendations outline a measured approach for restricting visits and visitors to reduce the risk of transmission to residents.  Guidelines for outbreaks in residential aged care is available at www.health.gov.au/resources/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-guidelines-for-outbreaks-in-residential-care-facilities. 

The Australian Government through the Department of Health have developed a suite of resources for professionals to use to become better informed, or to refresh, on infection control precautions and the safe use of personal protective equipment (PPE).  

This collection of resources for health professionals including aged care providers, pathology providers and healthcare managers about COVID-19 is provided for all to access at the Department's website.  The resources in this collection include posters, fact sheets and guidelines that have been developed by health professionals.  

To support training and education in infection control there is also a 30-minute online training module available, covering infection prevention and control for COVID-19.  In a similar vein there is also  the National Principles for Clinical Education during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

All of these resources have been created specifically to support you - to keep yourself and those you care for safe.  Please take a moment to access these and share them with your colleagues and friends.

 

Open consultations

National Stillbirth Action and Implementation Plan 

This consultation draft of the National Stillbirth Action and Implementation Plan has emerged from the efforts of bereaved parents, advocacy groups, health professionals and researchers to have stillbirth recognised as a public health issue. Strong political interest and bipartisan support have also helped raise the profile of stillbirth and pave the way for this plan.

Submissions have been extended to close on 10 July 2020. For further details and to make a submission please click here

 
 

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Australian Government Department of Health
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