Government program to help nurse burnout

A $25.2m government program for nurses and midwives is being funded in hopes of combatting burnout, stress, and abuse that leads them to leave the industry.

The Nurse Midwife Health Program Australia is in its first phase with a support service through telehealth (1800 001 060) and a website where nurses and midwives can seek advice and referrals when needed.

The next phase will see four in-person hubs set up. One to cover Victoria and Tasmania, NSW and the ACT, South Australia and Western Australia, and Queensland and the Northern Territory.

These services will offer both face-to-face and telehealth services.

Under the program, nurses will be employed to counsel the nurses and midwives who are stressed, burnt out, or abused.

Assistant Health and Aged Care Minister Ged Kearney said the program was long overdue.

"Australia's health care system is powered by the sweat, hearts, and expertise of nurses and midwives – it's vital that we look after the health and wellbeing of the people who look after us," she said.

"As a former nurse, I understand just how challenging nursing and midwifery can be.

"They're physically demanding and psychologically taxing jobs."

Data from the Department of Health and Aged Care shows that since 2016, there has been a 60 per cent increase in nurses and midwives who have taken an extended leave of absence.

Research by the Australian Primary Healthcare Nurses Association also found that 30 per cent were planning to leave their job within the next five years.

According to media reports, a new poll by the Queensland Nurses and Midwifery Union (QNMU) has also found nearly half of Queensland nurses and midwives could quit in the next year.

The QNMU has launched a new campaign calling on all Queensland politicians to commit to recruiting 11,800 additional nurses and midwives over the next four years with the upcoming budget.

The initiative follows the introduction of the new Medicare and PBS rebates for nurse-led care to be autonomous, which prevented them from providing care they were qualified to perform without a sign-off from doctors.

Federal assistant secretary of the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation Lori-Anne Sharp welcomed the program.

"It's nurses helping nurses," Ms Sharp said.

"Some of the emotional stresses of what they witness every day when dealing with people so closely and looking after them and their families can put them at risk of burnout."

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