Let’s keep improving the health system. Important information for Victorian nurses, midwives and carers.
Please note that this content has been extracted from a state election flyer distributed to ANMF (Vic Branch) members in marginal seats.
Dear member
On Saturday 24 November, Victorians will decide who will govern our state for the next four years.
The party that wins this election will significantly impact nurses, midwives and carers and the communities that we care for.
Election commitments are important and will be published in the November edition of On the Record, which will be emailed to members in mid-November. On 18 October 2018 ANMF wrote to Daniel Andrews MP, Premier and Leader of the Victorian Labor Party, Matthew Guy MP, Leader of the Victorian Liberal Party, Samantha Ratnam, Leader of the Victorian Greens and Peter Walsh, Leader of the Victorian National Party asking them to provide their parties’ health, nursing, midwifery and mental health policies for the 2018 state election. The parties were were asked to provide these policies to ANMF (Vic Branch) by 5pm, Friday 9 November to be included in On the Record.
We can also judge whether a government should be returned to office based on what it has done for ANMF members during its term.
The ANMF is not affiliated with any political party and together with our members, we have battled with both previous Labor and Liberal/National governments.
What we fight for remains the same, what’s best for nurses, midwives, carers and the Victorian health system.
On behalf of our members, the ANMF Victorian Branch Council has reviewed the Andrews Government’s record as well as the impact of other work it has done for our health system and our members.
They found that for the first time in 20 years – all election commitments were delivered.
We believe this is testament to the respectful working relationship we have developed with the Andrews Government and the high levels of engagement that Premier Andrews, Health Minister Jill Hennessy, Mental Health and Ageing Minister Martin Foley, Energy, Environment and Climate Change Minister Lily D’Ambrosio, and Families and Children Minister Jenny Mikakos have with our members.
Highlights of this record include:
- Victoria becoming the second place in the world, after California, to make nurse and midwife patient ratios law in public hospitals and public nursing homes (The Commonwealth Government regulate private and not for profit aged care.)
- Adopting ANMF’s 10-point plan to end occupational violence and aggression, including making this a condition of funding.
- Funding and opening an additional 100 beds as recommended in the Travis review.
- Saving the Nurses and Midwives Health Program Victoria (NMHPV) fully funding it to provide personalised counselling and support to Victoria’s nurses and midwives in metropolitan and regional Victoria.
- Additional funding for the Enhanced Maternal and Child Health Service, the Maternal and Child Health Line, outreach family violence services and training for maternal and child health nurses.
- Seventy-seven nurses were awarded scholarships of up to $10,000 for MCH post-graduate study in 2018.
- Voluntary assisted dying legislation accompanied by proposed legislation to improve ratios in palliative care units
- Government-funded education for nurses and midwives across Victoria on the important topics of alcohol and other drugs, aged and sub-acute care and management of ice-affected patients.
- Free enrolled nursing diploma training to be available in TAFE in 2019.
- Recognition of members issues included in the 86 recommendations of the Perinatal Services Inquiry to be implemented.
- The Health Complaints Commissioner role expanded to include those working in health and aged care who are not registered with AHPRA.
- Stopping the closure of public aged care facilities and building a new public aged care facility for aged and psycho geriatric care.
Additionally, all members’ public sector EBA claims were accepted in full or in part for the first time ever and without the need to take industrial action. This is in stark contrast to our nine-month industrial dispute with the Baillieu Liberal/National Coalition Government in 2011-12, where leaked Cabinet documents revealed their intention to substitute nurses and midwives with assistants to meet ratios.
Significant public sector EBA wins include:
- The highest wage increase ever achieved in an EBA outcome, surpassing other state and territories around Australia. Importantly the increases (between 4 and 26%) are scheduled to come into effect in April 2019.
- 8:8:10 rosters to be introduced at the 25 workplaces which had 8:8:8 rosters for public sector nurses and midwives.
- Work to reduce the negative environmental impact of our facilities including waste management.
- Measures to manage and reduce risk around fatigue, including employers having to provide transport home if a nurse or midwife has worked a double shift.
- Superannuation paid for those on EBA paid primary carers leave.
- Trial programs where Registered Undergraduate Students of Nursing who have completed at least 12 months of their undergrad nursing course can be employed in the role of a Health Assistant in Nursing, in addition to ratios in both metro and regional Victoria. Thereby assisting our valued students of nursing gain meaningful employment in a sector where the vast majority will be working once they graduate.
- Additional 125.8 (EFT) nurses for mental health services.
- Ground-breaking entitlement of 20 days paid family violence leave.
- Project role to implement the Community Workload Management System in mental health services.
- Retention of stand-alone community health centres, four public aged care facilities, two parent and baby centres and Ballarat District Nursing Service in the public sector EBA.
Many of our latest EBA gains, such as wages outcomes reaching net pay parity with NSW nurses and midwives, have been passed on to our members in private acute hospitals and other services across the state.
Based on the health, nursing, midwifery and carer commitments and a history of delivering election promises as outlined in this document, ANMF Branch Council strongly supports the re-election of the Andrews Government so it can continue its work.
Therefore, we encourage you to consider voting for continued progress and to support the Andrews Government which has demonstrated its ongoing commitment to you, Victoria’s nurses, midwives and carers – and our Victorian health system.
Respectfully,
ANMF (Vic Branch) President, Maree Burgess
and
ANMF (Vic Branch) Secretary, Lisa Fitzpatrick
Authorised by Lisa Fitzpatrick, Secretary, ANMF (Vic Branch), 535 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne VIC 3000.
