More beds, more nurses and more ambulances and paramedics are exactly what is needed to ease the pressure of the current increased demand on the Victorian health system.
The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (Victorian Branch) has welcomed the Andrews Government’s announcement to spend $759 million to improve the flow of patients through emergency departments.
The rising demand on emergency departments has been discussed at fortnightly meetings between Victorian health unions, including the ANMF (Vic Branch), the Australian Medical Association, the Victorian Ambulance Union and Health and Ambulance Service Minister Martin Foley.
ANMF (Vic Branch) Secretary Lisa Fitzpatrick said ‘Our regional and metropolitan emergency departments are overstretched with increasing patient presentations.
‘We’ve been able to have detailed discussions with Minister Foley about the issues our nursing members are facing, what the problems are and what the solutions are, and he has listened,’ she said.
‘Additional nurses in emergency departments to assist with the increasing number of patients that paramedics need to hand over so they can get back on the roads will mean we do not return to the days of patients in corridors without a designated nurse.
‘ANMF looks forward to working with the government in relation to the allocation of the extra nurses and ensuring we have the workforce capacity to ensure this solution can be realised for nurses, doctors, paramedics and their patients,’ Ms Fitzpatrick said.
The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (Victorian Branch) has more than 93,000 members – nurses, midwives and aged care personal care workers – across the Victorian health and aged care sectors.
Media inquiries: ANMF (Vic Branch) Robyn Asbury – M: 0417 523 252