Roles of health professionals are still unfortunately often stuck in the past. That is, before the shift of education of nurses and other health professionals into universities in the 1980s. So many are still not working to their full scope ...
More »Author Archives: Stephen Duckett
Parking “chaos” at new hospital
A lack of car parking spaces for the "largest ever investment in regional NSW" hospital has caused chaos and anger at the new Tweed Valley Hospital. The hospital has been operating for three weeks, but its 1500 car parking spaces ...
More »Final report for NSW birth trauma inquiry released
Eleven months, 4000 submissions, and six hearings later the final report for the inquiry into NSW birth trauma has been released. The Select Committee on Birth Trauma released its 256-page report last week with five findings and 43 recommendations to ...
More »Vic nurses reject new pay offer and call out secretary for comments
Victorian nurses and midwives have voted to reject a new pay offer with some calling for the branch secretary to stand down over her comments about it. A "last resort" industrial action by the members of the Victorian branch of ...
More »NSW offers nurses pay rise, short of unions demands
The NSW government has offered public sector workers, including nurses, a three-year pay rise worth 10.5 per cent, which is well under the demands of some of the unions. The Minns government announced the offer last Monday, and it applies ...
More »North Qld nurses secure QUT scholarships
Nine North Queensland nurses have officially accepted scholarships to study for their Master's at the Queensland Unversity of Technology (QUT). Partnering with the Northern Queensland Primary Health Network (NQPHN), scholarships for a Master of Nurse Practioner or Graduate Certificate (Primary ...
More »Staff shortage hits hospital in SA
Staff shortages at a regional South Australian hospital have prompted the nurses union to launch a petition demanding the government intervene. Mount Gambier Hospital, located south-east of Adelaide, needs another 36 full-time nurses and midwives to fill their roster, with ...
More »Budget ’24: What’s in it for nurses and midwives?
The 2024-25 Federal Budget was announced by Treasurer Jim Chalmers last Tuesday night, with $8.5bn being invested into health. There are many indirect and direct measures, such as for placement payments for students studying nursing, that the Australian College of ...
More »Nurse-to-patient ratios introduced for NSW public hospitals
A boost to staffing numbers was welcomed by the nurses' union with the immediate introduction for nurse-to-patient ratios for NSW public hospitals. The NSW Nurses and Midwives Association (NSWNMA) has welcomed around 70 additional full-time equivalent nurses at the Royal ...
More »ACN exec axed after alleged “financial irregularities”
The chief of a nursing peak body has been fired following an investigation finding alleged "financial irregularities" within the organisation. Last month, Kylie Ward and two other Australian College of Nursing (ACN) executives were suspended following an independent investigation by ...
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