ANMF takes the stand at Royal Commission

Implementing mandated minimum staffing levels and skills mix in aged care is not the sole indicator of a quality system yet one undoubtedly cannot be achieved without taking the action.  That was the key message from Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) Federal Secretary Annie Butler as she took the stand at the Royal Commission […]

Staff ratios emerge as key issue as Royal Commission into Aged Care begins

More than half of the 300 public submissions already received by the Royal Commission into Aged Care have raised concerns about substandard or unsafe care and staffing issues, including staff ratios, evidence at the opening hearing of the inquiry into Australia’s aged care system has revealed. About 81% of the public submissions detailed concerns over […]

Justice for SEATO nurses?

Civilian nurses who voluntarily served during the Vietnam War campaigning for more than two decades to secure the same health entitlements accessed by the military will be forced to wait another year and a half despite achieving long overdue recognition for their selfless contribution. More than 200 nurses answered the Australian government’s call for civilian […]

Culture shift to change aged care

Every Australian needs to roll up their sleeves, embrace their own ageing and rethink their interactions with older people, says Dr Catherine Barrett. The former nurse and passionate aged care advocate was one of five finalists selected for the prestigious 2018 Human Rights Medal announced in December. The Human Rights Awards, established in 1987, are […]

Open letter calls on PM to legislate aged care ratios

The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF), together with the Australian Medical Association (AMA), The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) and Australian and New Zealand Society for Geriatric Medicine (ANZSGM), has published an open letter in today’s edition of The Australian newspaper calling on Prime Minister Scott Morrison to guarantee the nation’s elderly […]

ANMF signs on to ban nuclear weapons

The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) has joined forces with fellow peak health organisations in calling for the ALP to sign a landmark United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons ahead of the party’s annual national conference. Australian-born activist group The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) drove the development of […]

NSW midwives highlight dangerous maternity shortages

Midwives from NSW rallied today to highlight shortages within their maternity wards. NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association (NSWNMA) members from Royal Prince Alfred, Royal North Shore, Wollongong, Liverpool, Blacktown, Nepean Lismore, John Hunter, Tweed and Tamworth Hospitals have backed an open letter to the NSW Minister for Health, Brad Hazzard, urging the NSW Government to implement […]

Your rights during the aged care Royal Commission

In September, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the federal government would establish a Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety to examine the crisis facing the sector. It officially began in October when Governor-General Peter Cosgrove released a document titled ‘Letters Patent’, which formally appointed the Royal Commissioners and outlined the Commission’s terms of […]

ANMF joins call for evacuation of children from Nauru

Over 85 children and other families from the Nauru and Manus Island detention camps must be urgently evacuated the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) has called. Along with the Australian College of Mental Health Nurses, the Australian Medical Association, Medecins Sans Frontiers and other health professionals, the ANMF is demanding the Prime Minister to […]

NSW nurses and midwives demand mandated nurse to patient ratios

The NSW Health Minister was grilled on safe staffing by the state’s nurses and midwives at their union’s annual delegates’ conference last week. It came as the NSW Opposition promised nurses and midwives a new ratios system would be delivered if Labor was elected. NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association (NSWNMA) members expressed distress to NSW […]