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 […]
Australia’s ‘shame’ over offshore detention
In late 2014, paediatric clinical nurse consultant Alanna Maycock spent five days on Nauru providing healthcare to asylum seekers in detention. She encountered dreadful incidents including the rape of a mother, a guard assaulting a father of a child she was caring for, and a six-year-old girl attempting to hang herself with fence ties. Back […]
Aged care workers undervalued and underpaid
Aged care providers can prevent their workforce from taking industrial action by installing pay levels that respect and value the work being carried out and addressing chronic understaffing within the sector so elderly nursing home residents receive proper care, ANMF Federal Secretary Annie Butler has argued. Speaking at an Aged Care Workforce Forum in Melbourne […]
Selfcare on shift
A ‘Rest, Rehydrate, Refuel’ campaign aimed at nurses has been launched by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) in the United Kingdom. The 3Rs initiative highlights the importance of nurses looking after themselves while on shift and how dehydration can affect concentration and cognitive function. The campaign emphasises that breaks are not a luxury but […]
Come to the Table: Maggie Beer urges aged care
It’s fresh, seasonal food that gives energy and pleasure to those in aged care, argues renowned celebrity cook Maggie Beer Yet findings of a new study show a decrease in spending on raw food and an increase in spending on supplements in some residential aged care facilities (RACFs). The study published in Nutrition and Dietetics […]