Page 2438 - Week 07 - Tuesday, 30 July 2019
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nurse generally. This is a challenging long-term goal and one where professional development is obviously important to achieving the goal of raising that percentage.
We should not be simply seeking to ship in nurses from somewhere else; we should be seeking to develop our own workforce and provide our own staff with the opportunities to gain those qualifications in order to give them professional development and career pathways. In terms of retaining staff in the long term, it is our own staff who are most likely to stay, so developing them is a successful pathway to the sustainability of our own workforce.
The ACT Greens note the pressure put on ACT hospital emergency departments to respond to the needs of many patients who present at Calvary and the Canberra Hospital. I am pleased that the walk-in centres offer an alternative avenue for safe, effective treatment by professional nurses at the community-based walk-in clinics. There has been a lot of discussion about them today. My simple observation is that I am a fan both professionally and as someone who has made use of those walk-in centres. They are an excellent part of the healthcare system.
Anecdotally, we know the walk-in centres work. I heard a story of a gentleman who needed his ear syringed because he could not hear much and was dizzy. He could not get to see a nurse at his doctor’s at a time that was convenient for him for two weeks, so he attended a walk-in clinic on a Saturday. Some 45 minutes later he was done and dusted and has since been back to have a wound dressed. He raves about the service provided by the nurse-led walk-in centre.
These essential services are well regarded in the community. They reduce waiting times for care, and they offer free, high quality care and one-off advice and treatment for people with minor illness and injury. There is always room for new ideas and innovation. I am committed to continuing to work with medical experts and our nursing staff to explore what further services they can provide safely and appropriately to the community.
The ACT Greens have made walk-in centres part of our election policy and the parliamentary agreement with Labor after the 2016 election reflects that. We are pleased with the development of the Dickson and Weston Creek clinics. Understanding the impact of the clinics on emergency department presentations and referrals will help us identify whether the centre opening hours and types of medical treatments can be expanded to further alleviate pressure and provide more choices for community-based care.
As the minister responsible for mental health and justice health and as the ACT Greens health spokesperson, I thank Mr Gupta for offering us this opportunity today to reflect on the role nurses play in our health system. I acknowledge the nurses working in our community for their dedication, commitment and skill. The Canberra community and this Assembly appreciate it a great deal.
MR HANSON (Murrumbidgee) (4.11): I was not planning to speak, but I have been inspired to by listening to the debate. I have been reminded how good nurses are. As our Prime Minister would say: how good are nurses? I acknowledge the fantastic
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