The Australian Nursing Federation (ANF) is calling for health to be a top priority leading up to the federal election on September 14.

ANF federal secretary Lee Thomas said they are calling on all the parties "to make safe patient care for all Australians a top priority at the election". "As a result, the ANF will be seeking urgent representations with all major parties as well as key independents to put our health platform to them and asking that they commit to the ongoing delivery of safe patient healthcare for the Australian community," she said. Some of the issues that the ANFs health platform must address, said Thomas, are the predicted shortage of 109,000 nurses and midwives by 2025, the current shortage of 25,000...