Page 2769 - Week 08 - Tuesday, 13 August 2019
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Canberra Health Services works with the ANU to provide clinical placements for students within the ACT health system across both Canberra Health Services and Calvary Public Hospital, providing students with real-life experience across a vast array of medical specialities, including the emergency department, surgery and the ambulatory services in outpatient clinics.
Canberra Health Services provides many supports for the junior doctors around health and wellbeing, including the blue buddy system—these junior medical officers act as an informal near-to-peer mentor by providing support, advice and information; professional development for junior doctors, including sessions on avoiding burnout and promoting resilience and wellbeing; encouraging junior doctors to take their accrued days off as they accrue, and systems in place to ensure that junior doctors can take their annual and study leave entitlements; orientation programs and documents to highlight access to the employee assistance programs, which include psychological and career counselling; regular feedback is sought about workload, rosters and support that is received from senior staff; and of course mentoring by senior clinicians.
In respect of nurses and midwives, in the 2018-19 financial year financial support was provided for 202 nurses and midwives undertaking postgraduate studies in clinical practice, education, leadership, management and research, and a further eight scholarships were awarded to nurses and midwives representing the ACT Health Directorate at national and international conferences. The nurse and midwifery office also offers Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander enrolled nursing scholarships. Six registrations for nurses and midwives and students from the ACT have been sponsored for the congress of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nurses and midwives national conference in September.
MR GUPTA: Minister, what else is the government doing to support our nurses and doctors?
MS STEPHEN-SMITH: I thank Mr Gupta for the supplementary. Another aspect of the government’s commitment to ensure that nurses and doctors are supported is ensuring that they form a key part of our decision-making processes.
I recently attended the inaugural clinical leadership forum, a forum made up of clinicians, including doctors and nurses. The forum is responsible for providing independent and expert clinical advice to me and to the Minister for Mental Health, with the aim of contributing to decision-making to ensure continuous improvement of a high-performing health system that keeps people well, provides the best care when required and provides an industry-leading workplace.
The forum will be informed and guided by the recommendations of the Independent Review into the Workplace Culture within ACT Public Health Services, and make recommendations to us where this relates to improving the clinical operations of the ACT’s health system.
Significant opportunity exists for strong engagement between the culture review implementation branch and the clinical leadership forum. Work will be undertaken between these two areas to provide the opportunity for early discussion, concept
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