Keep an eye on the Fair Work Ombudsman’s Media Releases for media notification on 2010 issues.

Nurses, Assistants in Nursing and community supporters from all around Australia are emailing and sending postcards to Prime Minister Julia Gillard, calling on her to fix the crisis in aged care.

Over the past week alone, more than 1000 emails have been sent to the Prime Minister, coinciding with the release of the Productivity Commission’s final report into the aged care sector.

Emails to the Prime Minister can be sent directly from www.becausewecare.org.au.

More than 120,000 postcards have also been distributed in the community and are being sent directly to the Prime Minister’s office in Canberra.

Please consider accessing the BWC web site and send an email to the Prime Minister in support of your colleagues working in the Aged Care Sector and ensure the provision of quality Aged Care for older Australians.

Please return your “Aged Care can’t wait”  postcard to the ACT ANF office or mail it directly to the Prime Minister. Additional postcards can be obtained from the ACT ANF office for distribution among family and friends.

Stand up for quality aged care for older Australians. Act NOW

Recognise the outstanding efforts of a remarkable nurse by nominating them in one of three categories:

• Nurse of the Year
• Innovation in Nursing
• Graduate Nurse of the Year

Nominate Now! Nominations close 29 February 2012.

Winners announced aLa gala awards ceremony on Thursday 10 May 2012 at Melbourne’s Crown Entertainment Complex.

For more information, see the flyer linked below, or visit http://www.hestanursingawards.com/

HESTA Nursing Awards 2012

Please find attached: The Collective Perspective January 2012 [PDF: 556kb]

The Australian Nursing Federation – ACT Branch (ACT ANF) welcomed ACT Labor’s commitment to expand the highly successful Nurse led Walk-in Centre to Belconnen and Tuggeranong. The ACT ANF considers the expansion of the Walk-in Centre (WiC) model throughout Canberra will mean a substantial increase in the availability of timely and free healthcare for the Canberra community.

ACT ANF Branch Secretary Ms Jenny Miragaya said today that “despite claims made by lobby groups such as the AMA, the independent evaluation of the Walk-in Centre highlighted the Canberra community’s high level of satisfaction with the service. The Walk-in Centre, which is staffed by a small group of highly-skilled Nurses, has made significant improvements to healthcare services and options available in the region.”

“The high rates of utilisation, short waiting times and consumers’ high levels of satisfaction with the advice and treatment they received reflect well on the Nurse-led WiC model and the skill and ability of the staff,” said Ms Miragaya.

“In addition to the material contained within the evaluation the ACT ANF has received wholly positive feedback from the community. People are impressed with the speed at which they can be seen for minor injuries and illnesses and that there are no financial imposts. It is a simple process. Walk-in Centres provide an option for Canberrans who want access to healthcare but are not able to see a GP due to the shortage of GPs, low bulk-billing rates and limited operating hours,” said Ms Miragaya.

“The Nurses who staff the existing Walk-in Centre are very experienced and highly educated healthcare professionals. The ACT ANF hopes that with the proposed expansion of the WiC model the role of the Nurse Practitioners will be expanded to allow them to deliver healthcare within their full scope of practice,” Ms Miragaya said.

Contact Person:

Jenny Miragaya Branch Secretary

Ph: 6282 9455 M: 0409 812 932

Please find attached: The Collective Perspective: Dec11-Jan12 [PDF: 740kb]

Please find attached: The Collective Perspective: Oct-Nov 2011 [PDF: 1.5MB]