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Primary health care is any medical service that is provided outside the four walls of a hospital, including aged care, community health, general practice, custodial, schools and many other primary health care settings. Australia's 98,000+ primary health care nurses play a critical role in disease prevention and control to keep people healthy. They provide proactive care and health promotion to keep Australians well.
The Australian Primary Health Care Nurses Association (APNA) has released survey data showing almost 40 per cent of primary health care nurses and midwives are considering leaving the sector in the next two to five years.
Low wages and low recognition
26 June 2024: The Australian Primary Health Care Nurses Association (APNA) will meet with Members of Parliament in Canberra this week to discuss solutions and help fix a range of workforce issues which have the potential to cause an exodus of nurses from the country’s primary health care sector in the next five years.
Primary Times: Winter 2024
The APNA Workforce Survey is a unique and authoritative source of information about primary health care (PHC) nurses and midwives and the work that they do, which is fundamental to ensuring the health and wellbeing of the Australian population.
Human Resources Director: 7 June 2024
Four out of five highly skilled nurses in Australia's GP clinics are being "chronically underutilised" as they are forced to undertake non-clinical and administrative work.
6 June 2024: At a time of chronic health workforce shortages across Australia, a new survey has revealed that four out of five highly-qualified registered and enrolled primary health care nurses in GP clinics are being forced to undertake a long-list of non-clinical, administrative work, instead of giving people the medical care they need in the community.
Medical Observer: 29 November 2023
We hear a lot about nurses being a cost to general practice, when the truth is they bring tremendous value to any practice.
APNA Workforce Survey reveals urgency to train nursing’s next generation
13 November 2023: Australia is on notice that its nursing shortage is set to worsen, with one in four nurses working in primary health care (PHC) considering leaving their role in the next two to five years, according to the largest survey of the sector.
The Queenslander: 6 November 2023
Three-quarters of nurses working in primary health care feel stressed and exhausted at work, with one in four planning to leave their job within two to five years.
Rural Health Pro: 31 October 2023
It’s no secret that there is a huge challenge facing health authorities about Australia’s capacity to meet the demand for health services in regional, remote and rural areas.
Pearls and Irritations: August 31, 2023
Australia’s primary health care (PHC) nurses are one of our health system’s biggest assets – but they aren’t working to their full potential. A recent APNA survey tells us that despite the widespread under-utilisation of PHC nurses, recent progress in using nurses effectively has virtually stalled.
National primary health care nursing conference opening in Perth
28 July 2023: Western Australia’s primary health care (PHC) nurses are the most underutilised in Australia, according to a national survey of Australia’s PHC nursing workforce.
Healthcare Channel: 6 July 2023
According to a recent national survey conducted by the Australian Primary Health Care Nurses Association (APNA), more than one third (34%) of nurses working in residential or community aged care settings in Australia are not fully utilising their skills.
ABC Radio Melbourne: The Conversation Hour, 29 June 2023
This edition of Conversation Hour explores the the role of primary care nurses in the healthcare system and asks whether drawing on their full skill base could create better access to health care for Victorians, and ease the pressures on GPs.
One third of all aged care nurses are not being used to their full potential
21 June 2023: More than one third (34%) of all nurses working in residential or community aged care settings are not being utilised most of the time, according to a new national survey of Australia’s primary health care (PHC) nursing workforce.
A third of Australia’s primary health care (PHC) nurses believe their skills are not being fully utilised most of the time, according to a new survey.
ABC Radio: The World Today: 13 June 2023
Nurses who work in GP clinics say they're not being used to their full potential. The federal budget boosted the payments for general practice to encourage clinics to employ a variety of health professionals, including nurses. But nurses themselves think more change is needed to make sure they can help take some of the pressure off busy GPs.
In a busy Melbourne clinic, practice nurse Fiona Mardling has just finished making her 20th phone call of the day to deliver test results to a patient.
A third of Australia's primary health care nurses say they their skills are being under-utilised, with outdated Medicare billing protocols cited as the reason.
One third of all primary health care nurses are not being used to their full potential
13 June 2023: One third (32%) of all primary health care (PHC) nurses are not being utilised most of the time, according to a new national survey of Australia’s PHC nursing workforce.
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