The royal commission’s interim report, ominously titled Neglect, was released on 31 October. A great early Christmas present for all Australians, chosen especially with the government in mind. In response, Prime Minister Scott Morrison joined Aged Care Minister Richard Colbeck, ...
More »Opinion
The rise of precarious care
Perhaps the most damaging side effect of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety is that instead of dealing with the problems of the aged care system, we have a de facto policy of ‘wait and see’. Actions ...
More »Additional training essential for mental health nursing: opinion
There is an accelerating need for a skilled mental health workforce in Australia given the growing recognition of mental illness. However, developing an informed, flexible and skilled nursing workforce in hospital, community mental health and non-traditional settings is a challenge. ...
More »Why healthcare facilities need to streamline workflows
Nurses often find themselves spending inordinate amounts of time on paperwork and data entry instead of doing what they trained to do: help patients. While they would rather spend time with patients doing clinical care, nurses are often held back ...
More »Doing ‘everything’ near the end of life may be inappropriate for seniors in ICU
No-one wants to be a patient in an intensive care unit (ICU). But if you ever do require intensive care, would you or your family like to be better informed about the harms and benefits of intensive treatment? And would ...
More »Adverse childhood experiences: from cruelty to a courageous life
The usual connotation of an ‘ace’ is positive. For a card player the ace of spades is traditionally the highest and most valued card in the pack. According to the urban dictionary the term ace describes a person whom you ...
More »Do we still need unpaid carers in a competitive aged care market?
Is the unpaid assistance provided in the main by family caregivers or other close relatives, friends or associates still necessary, or have carers become a problem? Do they require a new specialised management approach to ensure they don’t get in ...
More »Libya: Medical care amongst inhumanity
It was completely heartbreaking to see people caged up in the detention centres, standing behind bars. Their eyes held nothing. Yet when I spoke to them, every single person had a story. There were child soldiers escaping a horrific life ...
More »What temporarily losing her vision taught one nurse about the profession
HESTA award winner Veronique Murphy, an associate nurse unit manager at Alfred Health, was recently invited by Deakin University to be a guest speaker at the School of Nursing and Midwifery’s awards night. Below is an edited transcript of the ...
More »Defusing challenging behaviours in the nursing industry
Nurses are more likely to suffer violence at work than police and prison officers.1 A US study also found that nurses and health care workers suffered almost 70 per cent of all workplace violence injuries and were nearly five times ...
More »