The Australian Nursing Federation (ANF) welcomed the Health Minister's
announcements of an extra AU$15 million for multidisciplinary mental
health education, and improved incentives to encourage mental health
nurses to remain in the workforce.
Ged Kearney ANF National Secretary said the Government's National
Mental Health Report 2007 shows fractured services and workforce
shortages. With the extent of mental illness predicted to affect more
than 20% of Australian adults and between 10-15% of young people, it is
essential that measures be taken to address these inadequacies in
mental health services.
It is pleasing to see the government taking a
multidisciplinary approach to this issue. Mental health nurses play a
vital and expansive role in delivering mental health services to our
communities. They are at the hard coal face of this sector and
maintaining a robust and skilled nursing workforce is essential in
establishing a team approach to care delivery. Encouraging the
employment of Mental Health nurses in primary care and acknowledging
the nursing contribution while ensuring adequate resources are good
steps towards addressing retention issues in the sector" Ms Kearney
said.
"Maybe we will see the day when excellent clinicians such as mental
health nurses can actually practise independently with their services
being funded separately by the government and not being directed to a
GP or other private provider." Ms Kearney said.
Notes:
The ANF, representing nearly 160,000 members, is the professional and industrial voice for nurses and midwives in Australia.