The Australian College of Nursing (ACN) is calling on all health professions to work collaboratively to support and promote the much-needed primary health care reforms that will flow from the Unleashing the Potential of our Health Workforce – Scope of Practice Review, which is expected to deliver its final report in October this year.
In its response to the Review’s Issues Paper 2, ACN stresses that alignment of professional bodies in supporting reforms is crucial for challenging existing norms within current models of care.
ACN CEO, Emeritus Professor Leanne Boyd FACN, said that unified leadership and support are essential to ensuring all disciplines comprehend the impact of reforms on their scope of practice.
“All the professions and the professional bodies must be united in putting patients first,” Professor Boyd said.
“The reform priority is equitable access to affordable, high-quality, and safe primary health care for all Australians, no matter where they live.
“By fostering collaboration and shared commitment among professional bodies, the implementation of transformative changes can be more effectively navigated and implemented.
“ACN strongly believes that the Review outcomes will not fragment care, as claimed by some advocates. Instead, they will provide a framework for a more collaborative patient-focussed approach to care.
“This will lead to improved health outcomes and more efficient and equitable healthcare delivery across the nation.”
Professor Boyd said that a collaborative, respectful approach to care will improve health outcomes and provide patients with a better experience along their healthcare journeys.
“Recognising and acknowledging the overlap of capabilities is necessary when providing health care,” Professor Boyd said.
“It ensures that all healthcare practitioners know what each can do under what circumstances and to accept that, within a multidisciplinary team, some tasks and functions will be shared to enable better, safer, and more timely care for the patient.
“Legislation must be reviewed and amended to remove funding barriers to more effective multi-disciplinary primary health care.
“Amendments to the Health Insurance Act would enable many healthcare professionals within primary health care to be remunerated for the time and activities they are already undertaking.
“ACN will strongly support reforms to funding and payment models that incentivise multidisciplinary care teams to work to full scope of practice,” Professor Boyd said.
The ACN Response to Scope of Practice Review – Issues Paper 2 is at https://www.acn.edu.au/advocacy-policy/submission-scope-of-practice-review-issues-paper-2
