Page 2441 - Week 07 - Tuesday, 30 July 2019
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The community, as others have said, has warmly welcomed the addition of walk-in centres to the primary healthcare landscape. The centres are very popular; yet, as Ms Cheyne noted, waiting times remain low and satisfaction with treatment is very high.
It is five years since the government opened the walk-in centres in Tuggeranong and Belconnen. We opened Gungahlin last year; Weston Creek will open later this year; and the government recently announced the timing for the fifth walk-in centre, at Dickson. Nurses in the centres provide appropriate care for patients. Mr Hanson’s anecdote about the advice he got from a nurse that prevented him going to the ED shows that, while we do not have enough data yet to make a definitive case, the anecdotal evidence from people is that they go to a walk-in centre instead of an ED or when they cannot get in to see a GP.
Nurse practitioners are an increasingly integral part of our health system and provide support to our expanding network of walk-in centres. Nurse practitioners use their advanced training and skills to provide a more specialised practice. Many Canberrans may have been treated by a nurse practitioner at their local walk-in centre or at other health facilities around Canberra.
The ACT government was early in recognising the contribution that nurse practitioners can make to health care in the territory. In 2001 ACT Health, in collaboration with what was then the ACT nursing and midwifery board, conducted a nurse practitioner trial. The trial established the early framework for nurse practitioner educational preparation, their intended scope of clinical practice and the requirements for ACT regulation of their roles.
The government is mindful that the role nurse practitioners have in our public health system has become more accepted since that trial in 2001, and of the need to continually update and review governance and regulatory matters. The government will continue to work with nurse practitioners on these matters and will continue to listen and create regulation that is evidence based and works for both nurse practitioners and the community.
Madam Deputy Speaker, it is disappointing that the skilled and expert care that nurses provide to our community through the walk-in centres is not always recognised by all in this place. I was sorry recently to hear you, as shadow health spokesperson, in an interview with WIN News on 11 July, describe the health care that walk-in centre nurses provide in these terms:
A lot of the stuff that people come to the walk-in centre for, once upon a time was dealt with by mum and a packet of bandaids and a bottle of Betadine.
This description of the health care provided by skilled nurses at our walk-in centres shows the depth of “out-of-touchness” of the Canberra Liberals: they continue to be out of touch with the work of our walk-in centres. In one sentence, unfortunately, Madam Deputy Speaker, you managed to belittle both the patrons and the staff. I would encourage you to gain a better understanding of the care that nurses in our
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