lamp THE MAGAZINE OF THE NSW NURSES AND MIDWIVES’ ASSOCIATION
VOLUME 73 No.5 JUNE 2016
TAKING OUR ISSUES TO THE COMMUNITY lamp THE MAGAZINE OF THE NSW NURSES AND MIDWIVES’ ASSOCIATION
FEDERAL ELECTION 2016
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COVER STORY
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2 | THE LAMP JUNE 2016
CONTENTS
CONTACTS NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association For all membership enquiries and assistance, including Lamp subscriptions and change of address, contact our Sydney office. Sydney Office 50 O’Dea Avenue, Waterloo NSW 2017 (all correspondence) T 8595 1234 (metro) 1300 367 962 (non-metro) F 9662 1414 E gensec@nswnma.asn.au W www.nswnma.asn.au
VOLUME 73 No.5 JUNE 2016
Hunter Office 8-14 Telford Street, Newcastle East NSW 2300 NSWNMA Communications Manager Janaki Chellam-Rajendra T 1300 367 962
COVER STORY
12 | Public hospital crisis unless we act The Turnbull government’s massive $57 billion cuts to public hospital funding are already impacting on patient care. We can expect much worse after 2017 when they come fully into force – unless we act now. Cathy Weston AiN, Long Jetty Continuing Care Hospital PHOTOGRAPH: SHARON HICKEY
REGULARS 5 6 8 31 33 37 39 43 45 46
AGED CARE
Editorial Your letters News in brief Ask Judith Social media Nursing research online Crossword Books Movie of the month Diary dates
ROYAL COMMISSION
22 | Bank scandals cry out for a royal commission
18 | Another blow to aged care The NSW government has delivered a body blow to the safety and quality of care in nursing homes.
SUPERANNUATION
20 | Senate report advocates boost to women’s retirement incomes
Despite scandals that have hurt many customers the Turnbull government claims a royal commission into the banks is unnecessary.
Structural change to Australia’s retirement income system is needed to improve women’s economic security when their working days have ended.
Win a luxurious stay COMPETITION
ENVIROMENTAL HEALTH
24 | Cutting hospital waste on the Central Coast from the bottom up
6 | Win a luxurious stay on the Central Coast
For all editorial enquiries letters and diary dates T 8595 1234 E lamp@nswnma.asn.au M 50 O’Dea Avenue, Waterloo NSW 2017 Produced by Hester Communications T 9568 3148 Press Releases Send your press releases to: F 9662 1414 E gensec@nswnma.asn.au Editorial Committee • Brett Holmes, NSWNMA General Secretary • Judith Kiejda, NSWNMA Assistant General Secretary • Coral Levett, NSWNMA President • Peg Hibbert, Hornsby & Ku-Ring-Gai Hospital • Michelle Cashman, Long Jetty Continuing Care • Richard Noort, Justice Health Advertising Danielle Nicholson T 8595 2139 or 0429 269 750 F 9662 1414 E dnicholson@nswnma.asn.au Information and Records Management Centre To find archived articles from The Lamp, or to borrow from the NSWNMA nursing and health collection, contact: Jeannette Bromfield, Coordinator T 8595 2175 E gensec@nswnma.asn.au The Lamp ISSN: 0047-3936 General disclaimer The Lamp is the official magazine of the NSWNMA. Views expressed in articles are contributors’ own and not necessarily those of the NSWNMA. Statements of fact are believed to be true, but no legal responsibility is accepted for them. All material appearing in The Lamp is covered by copyright and may not be reproduced without prior written permission. The NSWNMA takes no responsibility for the advertising appearing herein and it does not necessarily endorse any products advertised. Privacy Privacy statement: The NSWNMA collects personal information from members in order to perform our role of representing their industrial and professional interests. We place great emphasis on maintaining and enhancing the privacy and security of your personal information. Personal information is protected under law and can only be released to someone else where the law requires or where you give permission. If you have concerns about your personal information please contact the NSWNMA office. If you are still not satisfied that your privacy is being maintained you can contact the Privacy Commission. Subscriptions for 2016 Free to all Association members. Professional members can subscribe to the magazine at a reduced rate of $30. Individuals $80, Institutions $135, Overseas $145.
A nurses’ environmental group promotes a grassroots approach to hospital sustainability.
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Average Net Distribution per issue. The Lamp is independently under the AMAA's CAB Total Distribution Audit. Yearly Audit for the period: 01/04/2015 - 31/03/2016
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THE LAMP JUNE 2016 | 3
71 annual conference PROFESSIONAL DAY
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MC Dr Norman Swan
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Better Off Dead Andrew Denton GUEST SPEAKERS Living Beyond Dementia Kate Swaffer Why inequality is a really big deal, and what can be done about it Peter Martin
g n i g n a Ch orld W Wednesday 20 July 2016 Rosehill Gardens Racecourse Grand Pavilion 9am to 5pm Registration opens at 7.30am COST members $100 non-members $150 students $20 (limited places)
REGISTRATION NOW OPEN Closes Wednesday 13 July 2016
REGISTER ONLINE
www.nswnma.asn.au/education 4 | THE LAMP JUNE 2016
How come a country as rich as Australia cant afford high quality healthcare Richard Denniss Reducing Disparities in Life Expectancy – which factors matter? Lesley Russell Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer address Jacqui Cross PANEL: Violence in healthcare settings Karen Crawshaw, Prof. Peter Miller and Dr Jacqui Pich
EDITORIAL BY BRETT HOLMES GENERAL SECRETARY
Our critical choice on public health, Medicare, Aged Care and penalty rates Elections are about choices. The type of health system we want, the retention of Medicare, the funding of aged care and the survival of penalty rates are crucial choices for nurses, midwives and the public on July 2.
“Our current world-class levels of patient care and the capacity for nurses and midwives to deliver that care cannot survive such a savage mauling of resources.”
The 2014-15 Abbott Government Budget signaled the Liberal National Coalition’s intention to walk away from the National Health Care Reform agenda and the $57 billion in forward spending savings from 2017 to 202425. This was a clear message to our public health system that a ten year plan for health and hospitals was out of the question for a Liberal National Coalition Government. I can’t help but contrast this against twenty-year commitments to submarines and fighter jets. Forward planning and capacity to pay for increased demand on your health system is crucial. That is why $57 billion dollars is such an important figure for us as health professionals to focus on. The Turnbull budget for 2016 which promised $2.9 billion for 2017 to 2020 still falls short of the $7.9 billion needed for that same period. State Governments are expected to fill that void and as anyone knows in our Public Health System that is a very large problem that ultimately lands at the feet of nurses and midwives on the front line. Already adverse symptoms are beginning to appear in the system. AMA Vice President Dr Stephen Parnis, in a peer-reviewed article in the Australian Medical Journal, says that there is already evidence “that arbitrary public hospital funding cuts have real consequences for patient mortality. The cuts to public funding are having an effect on hospital performance – to the detriment of patients”. This analysis comes hard on the heels of the AMA’s annual Public Hospital Report Card that lists a discernible deterioration in key performance indicators. The latest report by the Bureau of Health Information also picks up trends of worsening outcomes in NSW public hospitals particularly in low socio-economic areas. WE NEED TO PRESSURE ALL THE PARTIES These cuts and their consequences are no longer an abstract scenario to be dealt with at some distant, future moment. They are here with us now, and the consequences will be exponentially graver when the full cuts commence having their real impacts. We elect governments to be forward thinking and planning for our future.
Health care provision won’t trickle down from tax cuts to corporations big or small. Public hospitals haven’t been the only target of the government’s scalpel over the last three years. Medicare has been a consistent target as has aged care funding. Labor has been very critical of the government’s attacks on Medicare, public hospitals and aged care funding without actually promising to roll back the cuts. But as the Lamp goes to print they have written to the ANMF and reaffirmed their recent announcement to restore indexation of the Medicare Benefits Schedule from 1 January. This will apply to all services provided by GPs, allied health and other health practitioners and medical specialists. In aged care they have promised a comprehensive consultative review of the aged care workforce with the ANMF and other stakeholders. This review would examine the requirements for 24-hour registered nurse coverage and an appropriate skill mix to deliver sustainable quality of care. They have also indicated they support the regulation of assistant nurses and personal care workers. As yet, Labor has not indicated whether they will fully roll back the cuts to public hospital funding although they have told the ANMF that they will have more to say about their commitment to healthcare funding before the election. It is imperative that we put pressure on all parties to repeal these cuts. Over the next month I would ask you to help us get our message out to the public. The consequences of the cuts now and in the future are still not well understood in the community. We need to engage them and persuade them that this election they have a crucial choice to make if we are to keep out cherished public health system capable of delivering health to all no matter what your personal wealth.
THE LAMP JUNE 2016 | 5
YOUR COVERLETTERS STORY
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To enter simply email lamp@nswnma.asn.au with the subject Bells at Killcare and your name, member number and address.
YOUR LETTERS
LE TTE R OF THE MONTH
Nurses need to feel safe I’m writing in regards to Glenn Chapman’s letter in the April Lamp about violence. I totally agree with him, things need to change. Nurses need to feel safe and supported. With the so-called ‘zero tolerance’, I have heard management say we need to learn more de-escalating techniques to deal with the situation rather than ‘we will not tolerate the behaviours’. If you put in IIMMS (incident management and monitoring system) for relatives’ or patients’ aggressive or threatening behaviours, nothing comes of it, so a lot of staff become disheartened and believe we have to tolerate this kind of behaviour. Is it part of a nurse’s job to tolerate this kind of behaviour from anyone, regardless of them being drugged, having dementia or being mentally ill? I’m sure a lot of us did not sign up for this. I want to go to work knowing I will be safe and not wondering whether or not I will be coming home at all. We need to keep nurses safe, just like we need to keep ambos and police safe. Julie Ljubovic RN, Coniston Shocked by waste I am a student nurse and I am shocked at the waste produced by our healthcare system. Everyday mountains of unnecessary waste consisting of plastic bottles, polystyrene cups and other single use items are created in our hospitals. Protecting our environment is crucial to our health and we must urgently tackle the waste crisis! Sarah Ellyard, Student Nurse, Annandale
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Nutrition for body, mind and soul I’m writing to say thanks for the Radiant Sun Yoga Retreat I won through the Lamp a while ago but finally found the time to go on recently. The retreat was run by Catherine Potter, classes were suitable for all levels and held in the Broulee Yoga Shed in Catherine’s garden, which provided a beautiful relaxing backdrop for our practice. I got so much out of the weekend - it was nutrition for the body, mind and soul. Delicious vegetarian meals were included, there were numerous opportunities to connect with nature (with sunrise yoga, kayaking, a meditative bush and beach walk) and learn more about yoga alongside others on the retreat. I came back to Sydney feeling refreshed and rejuvenated and I’d highly recommend it for anyone who needs a pick-meup, even if they’ve never tried yoga before! Kirsten Hammond RN, French’s Forest
YOUR LETTERS
Acting for a healthy planet
On Sunday 8th May, the eyes of the world were on Newcastle as more than 2000 people from around the country came together to shut down the world’s largest coal port for the day. The message of the Break Free Action was clear: to avoid climate catastrophe, we must keep fossil fuels in the ground. For one day, no coal went out of the Port of Newcastle. As a nurse, I am concerned with the health of the global community to which I belong. The ever-increasing impacts of our rapidly changing climate are destroying our planet and the health of people across the globe, causing multiple medical illnesses, poverty and homelessness. The earth needs us all to stand up to the fossil fuel industry. My involvement in Break Free 2016 was both exciting and reaffirming. Standing alongside so many people who want to stop the negative aspects of climate change gives me the assurance that when we all work together, we can achieve a healthy and sustainable future. The march to the event was led by Indigenous Australians and Pacific Islanders - one group trying to save their country from the threat of mining and the other calling to stop the burning of fossil fuels in order to halt the rising sea levels that recently swallowed five of the Solomon Islands. If we don’t have a healthy planet to live in, we don’t have a healthy population. Cathy Burgess RN, Stockton
Use and abuse of smart phones In response to the article “Call for privacy reform after not so smart phone abuse” (May Lamp), as a midwife in the rural setting we use our smart phones at times to communicate with the GP obstetricians regarding CTG findings and may, with the woman’s permission, record and/ or photograph a CTG trace to MMS to the doctor who is not on site if we have concerns and need them to review. It sometimes gives them a clearer picture of what we are describing and helps them decide if they need to come in or to give instructions while they are on their way. They can also use the images to get advice from obstetricians in the major tertiary hospitals if they need further treatment advice or advice to transfer. We must delete those traces immediately from our phones when we are finished. How will this abuse of smart phone affect our use of our phones in this way, which could be crucial to a woman and her baby? We have asked about purchasing a smart phone or tablet for the birth unit for this purpose but have not seen any action on it. Sarah Elliott, RM, Blue Mountains NSWNMA responds: In this situation the positive objective and clinical purpose is an important consideration and protection. If such a practice is required it should however be codified and occur within a specific framework or procedure officially authorised by the hospital or LHD or workplace. This would do a number of things: • Provide adequate protection to both the patient and attending midwife as well as the doctor receiving any image • Ensure clinical decisions are enhanced by the proper use of such technology • Prevent patient’s rights to privacy of medical records/information being breached. Part of any adopted procedure should ideally be the provision of telecommunication equipment for this purpose – rather than relying upon personal devices of staff. Such a procedure should also set out any required notations to be made on patient notes/ records.
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The risk of more violence As a registered nurse now working in Aged Care, I am increasingly alarmed at the level of violence due to residents with various forms of dementia. Last night, I was verbally and physically assaulted by a resident. It was totally unprovoked. This is the third time I have been assaulted by the same resident. Over the last six months, I have been attacked by a relative of a resident in which the police had to be called. I found an intruder intoxicated who broke into the facility and when asked to leave broke the front door. We are constantly being verbally attacked by residents’ relatives. The response has been slow and the most recent attempt by management to deal with the problems is to place the issue back onto the victim. ‘Go and do a course on how to manage violent and aggressive people.’ The risk of serious injury or death from a demented resident is becoming a reality. Once again there seems to be a push by some providers to reduce Registered Nurses in aged care. It appears to be budget-driven and a failure to understand the important role Registered Nurses play in aged care. If this occurs, the risk of violence on carers and other residents will only get worse and unmanageable. I felt safer working as a clinic nurse in the Justice Health Service. At least if an inmate became violent you only had to press a duress alarm and a squad of guards would be there in minutes. In aged care if you press staff assist, you might be lucky to get a staff member if they are not in a room with the door closed showering a resident unable to hear the buzzer going off. Anthony G Craig RN, Lithgow
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HAVE YOUR SAY
Send your letters to: Editorial Enquiries email lamp@nswnma.asn.au fax 9662 1414 mail 50 O’Dea Avenue, Waterloo NSW 2017. Please include a high resolution photo along with your name, address, phone and membership number. Letters may be edited for clarity and space. Anonymous letters will not be published.
23/02/15 11:53 AM
THE LAMP JUNE 2016 | 7
NEWS IN BRIEF
Australia
Aged care providers support compulsory registration The Aged Care Guild – an association comprising nine of the largest Residential Aged Care for-profit providers – has come out in support of the registration of unregulated care workers in its submission to the Senate inquiry into the future of Australia’s aged care sector work force. The Guild’s members include Allity, Arcare Aged Care, Blue Cross, Bupa Aged Care, Estia Health, Japara Healthcare, McKenzie Aged Care, Opal Aged Care and Regis Healthcare. The Guild provides around 34,000 residential aged care beds - around 18 per cent of older people in residential care in Australia. The Guild asked the committee to consider compulsory registration for all aged care workers. This would require Personal Care Attendants (PCAs) and Assistants in Nursing (AINs) to be administered by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA), as are registered nurses, doctors and allied health professionals. NSWNMA General Secretary, Brett Holmes said it was a “responsible suggestion” that would assist in improving the quality of care in residential aged care facilities. “The submission acknowledges that residents are entering care in more advanced stages of their lives and require a higher level of care,’ he said. “In order to properly manage the growing ageing population, the industry needs more skilled, well-trained staff entering the workforce. By implementing compulsory registration for all employees in aged care, staff will have to meet national standards and be held accountable if they don’t practice a safe and appropriate level of care.”
“By implementing compulsory registration for all employees in aged care, staff will have to meet national standards and be held accountable if they don’t practice a safe and appropriate level of care.” Britain
China is making us fat Over sized tableware makes us consume bigger portions say researchers. Last year, researchers at Cambridge University conducted an experiment in a local pub called The Pint Shop. The researchers found that when larger glassware was used (370ml compared with 300ml), sales of a standard 175 ml of wine went up by 9%. They noted that the larger glasses made people feel they were drinking less, and so they gulped the wine faster. Psychologist Brian Wansink – whose research has found that oversized tableware makes us consume bigger portions - calls this “the size-contrast illusion”. “The real danger of these kitchen traps is that almost every single person in the world believes they’re immune to them,” he told the Guardian. In 2013, a British Heart Foundation report found that an average muffin that weighed 85g in 1993 weighed 130g 20 years later. Chicken pies expanded by 49% and the average shepherd’s pie nearly doubled in size from 1993 (from 210g to 400g). Researchers say the only people who are immune to big portions are tiny children. Up until the age of three or four, children have the ability to stop eating when they are full. An American study found that when three-year olds were served small, medium and larger portions of macaroni cheese, they always ate roughly the same amount. By contrast, five-year-olds ate a lot more when the portion of macaroni cheese was oversized. Following their study the Cambridge researchers recommended policies to reduce the availability of portion sizes. Meanwhile, The Pint Shop is now permanently serving its wine in larger glasses.
“LARGER GLASSES MADE PEOPLE FEEL THEY WERE DRINKING LESS, AND SO THEY GULPED THE WINE FASTER.”
8 | THE LAMP JUNE 2016
Sweden
Australia
All-girl schools link to increased risk of eating disorders
Too poor to retire
A Swedish study has found that girls attending schools where more parents had a higher education and more pupils were female were more likely to be diagnosed with eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia. The study looked at records for 55,059 teenage girls who attended secondary schools in and around Stockholm. The researchers found the probability of a girl having an eating disorder at a school where 75% of the pupils were female and 75% of the pupils had parents with a “higher education” was 3.3%. This is more than double that of a girl attending a school where 25% of the pupils were female and 25% had parents with a higher education. Researchers say that possible explanations include “the idea of eating disorders being contagious”, so schools where some pupils have eating disorders are likely to see the disorder spread through peer pressure, but also that “schools’ expectations around achievement” might play a part. “Schools with more students from more educated families may have higher aspirations and exert greater demands on their students. This may encourage perfectionism, which is strongly associated with eating disorders,” they say. The study was published in the peer-reviewed International Journal of Epidemiology.
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An analysis of Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows the number of over-45s who say they will not retire before turning 70 has dramatically increased, from 8 per cent to 23 per cent in a decade. According to the ABS, the most common factor influencing people’s decisions on when to retire was financial security (40 per cent of men, 35 per cent of women). This was followed by personal health and physical abilities (23 per cent of men and women) and reaching eligibility age for a pension (13 per cent of men and women). United Voice – the union representing some of the country’s lowest-paid workers – told the Sydney Morning Herald the findings were an indictment on former prime minister Tony Abbott’s decision to freeze an increase to employer super contributions, which had been scheduled to reach 12 per cent by 2019. “This was incredibly cruel and short-sighted and will have a devastating impact on workers,” union state secretary Jess Walsh said.
“IT IS NO SURPRISE THAT MORE AND MORE PEOPLE ARE DELAYING THEIR RETIREMENT.” “It is no surprise that more and more people are delaying their retirement.” Jess Walsh said the pension was clearly “not keeping up” and Australians were finding it harder to accumulate enough superannuation to top up the pension to a reasonable level. She said the value of the minimum wage had gone backwards nearly 10 per cent in two decades, making it even harder to accumulate enough superannuation.
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THE LAMP JUNE 2016 | 9
NEWS BRIEF COVERINSTORY
Denmark
You can die of a broken heart
“ONE YEAR AFTER THE LOSS, THE RISK WAS ALMOST THE SAME AS IN THE NON-BEREAVED POPULATION.”
Danish studies find that recently bereaved people have an elevated risk of heart trouble. The study – conducted by Arhaus University and reported by Agence France Presse - found that the risk of an irregular heartbeat was 41% higher among those who had lost a close companion. A trawl of data on nearly one million Danish people showed an elevated risk, lasting about a year, of developing a heart flutter. Those under 60 whose partners died unexpectedly were most in peril. The risk was highest 8-14 days after the loss, after which it gradually declined, said researchers. “One year after the loss, the risk was almost the same as in the non-bereaved population.” The study used population data collected between 1995 and 2014 to search for a pattern. Of the group, 88,612 people had been newly diagnosed with atrial fibrillation (AF) and 886,120 were healthy. Younger people, those under 60, were more than twice as likely to develop problems, and those whose partners were relatively healthy in the month before death, thus not expected to die, were 57% more at risk.
Britain
Britain
Nurses could take half of GPs’ appointments
Ambulance privatisation leads to chaos
Only one in three people who visit a GP surgery are ill enough to need to see a doctor and many of the remainder could talk to a practice nurse instead, according to a report by Reform, a conservative British thinktank. Reform says letting nurses deal with more ailments could free up enough GP time to allow them to offer patients appointments lasting up to 20 minutes. It claims the change would relieve the serious strain on GPs, reduce the number of people going to A&E and save the NHS £700m a year. GPs currently deal with two-thirds of the 372 million appointments a year in England. Nurses deal with the other third. But nurses and other health professionals could safely take on about half of doctors’ current workloads, Reform argues. If nurses were to handle the 57m consultations a year involving minor ailments the NHS would save more than £700m a year, the report claims. Recent research published in the Lancet medical journal found that GP workloads in England grew by 16% between 2007 and 2014 and that surgeries were now so busy that they were approaching “saturation point”.
“IF NURSES WERE TO HANDLE THE 57M CONSULTATIONS A YEAR INVOLVING MINOR AILMENTS THE NHS WOULD SAVE MORE THAN £700M A YEAR.” 10 | THE LAMP JUNE 2016
The NHS has launched an investigation into a £63.5m contract to Coperforma – a private provider for ambulance services – after a string of problems the GMG trade union labelled “a shambles”. Gary Palmer, a GMB official representing ambulance drivers told the Guardian: “Regularly patients are missing their appointments at hospital because they are just not being collected or are so late in being collected that they miss them. We know that hundreds and hundreds of patients have been affected. But given that Coperforma is carrying out 300,000 journeys a year, or about 1,000 every weekday, it could easily be 2,000 or 3,000. It’s been and still is an absolute shambles – chaos.” Among the problems impacting on patients to be investigated are: • Cancer patients missing oncology appointments after ambulances failed to turn up to collect them • Patients with kidney failure unable to receive scheduled sessions of kidney dialysis, with some missing two of their three treatments in a week • Hospital staff forced to stay until midnight to ensure kidney patients arriving hours after their scheduled start time received vital dialysis • Patients, relatives and NHS staff waiting for 45 minutes and more to get through to the firm’s phone lines • Coperforma vehicles arriving to collect patients who have already died.
“Regularly patients are missing their appointments at hospital because they are just not being collected or are so late in being collected that they miss them.”
NEWS IN BRIEF
WINTER
Australia
War nurse to be immortalised Alice Cashin, RN, who was the first Australian to be awarded a Royal Red Cross medal plus Bar for bravery during World War I, will have a bronze statue erected in her honour next to her unmarked grave. Alice trained at St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney, joined Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Service Reserve (QAIMNSR) during the war, serving in Egypt and later aboard the hospital ship, HMHS Gloucester Castle, when it was torpedoed by a German U-boat in 1917. As Matron of the ship at the time Alice made sure all 400 wounded were safe on lifeboats before climbing aboard the final one herself. Once picked up by a rescue vessel, Alice continued her work caring for the injured with the limited tools she had, administering pain relief and dressing wounds. NSWNMA General Secretary, Brett Holmes said her bravery and courage was something all nurses and midwives could relate to. “Nurse Alice was a member of the Australasian Trained Nurses’ Association (ATNA), Australia’s first nursing association. Her fair values and commitment to caring for the sick underpin the NSWNMA’s principles that many of our members connect with strongly,” he said. Generous support from the NSWNMA, First State Super, St Vincent’s Hospital, Sydney, Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps. (QARANC), past NSWNMA General Secretary Patricia Staunton and Tradies Gymea, will fund the bronze statue. It will be unveiled at Woronora Memorial Park, Sutherland on 11 October, 2016. Opal Aged Care responds to NSWNMA research Opal Aged Care has responded to an article published in the May Lamp – ‘Push for ratios in Opal Aged Care’ – with the following information: 1. T he NSWNMA state that since 2009 we have reduced our Full Time workforce by 35% and replaced them with Part Timers and Casuals. The facts are that since 2009 we have increased our Full Time workforce by 30% and our overall workforce by 14%. These numbers exclude any acquisitions or new homes. 2. T he NSWNMA states that Opal RN numbers have decreased as a proportion of the workforce from 24.7% to 20.3%. The facts are that we have grown our overall RN workforce by 9% since 2009. Full time RN numbers have increased by 81% across the business. NSW RN numbers have increased by 56%. These numbers exclude any acquisitions or new homes. 3. T he NSWNMA states that over the past three years Opal has been granted 3610 additional beds – 1055 in New South Wales – by the government. The facts are that we have been granted only 2006 additional beds and this has occurred over a longer period than 3 years. The NSWNMA apologises for any errors on our part. Our figures were based on the time period of available public data. We acknowledge that Opal has advised us that they would have provided accurate data if we had asked them.
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www.nswnma.asn.au THE LAMP JUNE 2016 | 11
COVER STORY
Public hospital crisis unless we act The Turnbull government’s massive $57 billion cuts to public hospital funding are already impacting on patient care. We can expect much worse after 2017 when they come fully into force – unless we act now. Cuts to public hospital funding are already having a negative impact on the “capacity of public hospitals to meet targets and community health needs” according to the Australian Medical Association. AMA Vice President, Dr Stephen Parnis, in a peer-reviewed article in the Medical Journal of Australia, says that the funding cuts are undermining public hospital emergency department targets. Dr Parnis says the cuts are having a visible impact on the National Emergency Access Target (NEAT) which aims to reduce in-hospital mortality of emergency admissions. There is, he says, “evidence that arbitrary public hospital funding cuts have real consequences for patient mortality”. “Performance against the NEAT at the national level had been improving in each year from 2011-12. But it has now plateaued, with no further improvement in 2014-15, with the likelihood that the situation could deteriorate as a result of the budget cuts,” he said. “A target that was working to improve performance has stopped delivering further improvements. The cuts to public hospital funding are having an effect on 12 | THE LAMP JUNE 2016
hospital performance – to the detriment of patients.” This assessment comes soon after the AMA’s Public Hospital Report Card 2016 found that: • Bed number ratios have deteriorated • Waiting times are largely static • Emergency department waiting times have worsened • The percentage of ED patients treated in four hours is well below target. POOR AREAS TAKING THE BRUNT A new report released by the Bureau of Health Information shows that people in more disadvantaged areas are bearing the brunt of this reduced care. It found that in these areas there were: • Median waiting times that were almost 100 days longer for non-urgent elective surgery in public hospitals during 2014-15 • Higher rates of hospitalisations for chronic diseases and vaccine-preventable conditions • Lower five-year relative survival for a range of cancers. The report also found that NSW had: • High rates of post-surgical complications including sepsis and venous throm-
boembolism (e.g. deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism) • Relatively low rates of hip fracture surgery within the recommended time frame of two days following admission to hospital. ALARM BELLS ARE ALREADY RINGING NSWNMA General Secretary Brett Holmes says the seeds of a future public hospital crisis were sown in Tony Abbott’s first budget two years ago and continue with the Turnbull government. “You cannot rip out such an enormous amount of money from hospital funding without a serious inverse impact on patients and the health workforce,” he says. “Economic experts tell us that you need to increase hospital spending by seven per cent just to meet increasing demand. By cutting funding so drastically the quality of care will inevitably tumble. “Already the evidence is emerging of poorer patient outcomes but this is only the beginning. Unless these cuts are reversed a serious crisis in our public hospitals is likely when cuts commence next year.
FEDERAL ELECTION 2016
“THERE IS EVIDENCE THAT ARBITRARY PUBLIC HOSPITAL FUNDING CUTS HAVE REAL CONSEQUENCES FOR PATIENT MORTALITY”.
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things you can do to make a difference this election
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Talk to your friends, family, neighbours and work colleagues about what the Turnbull government is doing to our public hospitals and Medicare.
— AMA Vice President Dr Stephen Parnis
We need to act and we need the public to act Brett Holmes says this election will be critical for the future of our public hospitals. “Elections are about choices and we need to persuade the public that there are crucial decisions to be made if we are to keep the world-class public health system we now have,” he says. “It is crucial that we engage the community in a conversation this election about what is happening to the public health system and the consequences for patient care that a $57 billion cut in funding will bring.
2
Use social media to get our message out about defending our public health system. www.facebook.com/ ICareAndIVote
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Email five people and ask them to watch our TV ad online and share the link with five more people: ICareAndIVote.com.au.
isit our campaign V website and get involved in our campaign: ICareAndIVote.com.au.
“The public listens to nurses and midwives. They know we are at the frontline of health and that we understand what is happening to the system. “I would urge nurses and midwives to get involved and talk to your friends, family, neighbours and work colleagues about what is happening to our health system.”
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ote to protect V our public health system.
5
Doorknock and letterbox your neighbourhood and let the community hear what is happening to our public hospitals, Medicare and Aged Care from the perspective of nurses and midwives. THE LAMP JUNE 2016 | 13
COVER COVER STORY STORY
Taking our issues to the community Door knocking, letter boxing, hitting the phones, visiting MPs, staffing stalls, attending forums and rallies: there are lots of ways to participate and help us get our message to the community about our health issues. Two nurses Michelle Cashman and Cathy Weston talk to the Lamp about their experiences talking to the community through the Central Coast Community Union Alliance.
“As an assistant in nursing I want to see the government do the right thing for nurses and their patients” Cathy Weston AiN, Long Jetty Continuing Care Hospital
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As an assistant in nursing I want to see the government do the right thing for nurses and their patients. That’s why I got involved in the Central Coast Community Union Alliance, which is targeting marginal seats. I hand out leaflets at the railway station and talk to commuters about the need to reverse the Liberal government’s cuts to public hospital funding and protect Medicare. Most people are happy to engage in conversation when I tell them I’m a nurse in aged care. I find people are really warm. I say a few words and ask to hear their concerns. It’s very interesting to hear other people’s points of view. I have a young daughter so I can’t get to all the campaign events but I help out when I can. Mostly it’s a lot of fun. You get the odd cranky person but you just take the good with the bad – just like you do with your patients really!
“MOSTLY IT’S A LOT OF FUN. YOU GET THE ODD CRANKY PERSON BUT YOU JUST TAKE THE GOOD WITH THE BAD – JUST LIKE YOU DO WITH YOUR PATIENTS REALLY!” — Cathy Weston AiN, Long Jetty Continuing Care Hospital Very few people I speak to understand they will have to pay more for things like GP consultations and pathology if the Turnbull government is re-elected. Health care is a big issue up here where we have a lot of elderly people and young families. They will be disadvantaged quite a lot if Medicare is cut back. A few people say they have read that the Liberals have increased health spending. They don’t realise they have put back just a couple of billion from the $57 billion they took out in 2014. In the campaign we nurses work alongside other occupations like teachers. My daughter starts kindergarten this year so I’m interested to hear from them what’s happening in education.
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FEDERAL ELECTION 2016
“There are different ways you can help spread the message” Michelle Cashman RN, Long Jetty Continuing Care Hospital
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Getting involved in an election campaign is a great way to have fun while delivering a serious message. You don’t have to give up a lot of time every week, just an hour or two here and there. You meet some wonderful characters whether you are standing outside the train station or door knocking. We always go out in teams and we are given cold water and snacks. It’s rare that we get turned away. We get quite a few pats on the back from people who appreciate the work nurses do. Even most diehard Liberal voters will take the time to listen to you. We have a bit of a photo competition going amongst ourselves. We get ‘selfies’ taken with people we meet to see who can come up with the best shots and they go up on the campaign Facebook page. I got a photo with a bunch of guys going surfing and last week we door-knocked one lady who brought out her pet snake to be in the selfie. You would be surprised at how much fun you can have – we always have a laugh. And that one person we door knock might just make the difference to the result in one or more of these very marginal electorates.
“YOU MEET SOME WONDERFUL CHARACTERS WHETHER YOU ARE STANDING OUTSIDE THE TRAIN STATION OR DOOR KNOCKING.” — Michelle Cashman RN, Long Jetty Continuing Care Hospital Early mornings at the train station are a good place to get the message out. A lot of people are doing it tough having to travel two to three hours a day just to get to and from work. Most of them don’t know how much the Liberals have ripped out of the health budget. Or how changes to Medicare will make it more expensive to go to the doctor. We explain that nurses won’t be able to provide the care people need if these things are not corrected. We give them the facts and ask them to put the Liberals last. I find people are quite responsive to the message. We also have a stall at the local markets, where people are in a more relaxed mode and happy to have a chat. Some people get nervous and tongue-tied when talking to people so they might prefer to stand at the roadside with a big sign and a wobble board. Or they can letterbox their local streets while they are walking the dog. There are lots of different ways you can help to spread the message.
Visit our campaign website The ANMF has set up a campaign website for members and the public called I care and I vote – ICareAndIVote. com.au where you can:
LIKE
WATCH
Send an email to the party leaders and tell them you care about what is happening to our public health system.
Join us on Facebook and keep up to date with health and aged care election issues as they happen. www.facebook.com/ ICareAndIVote
and share our TV ads.
THE LAMP JUNE 2016 | 15
COVER STORY
ACTU campaign aims to build a better future The ACTU is running a campaign in 20 marginal electorates around Australia including 12 in NSW. This campaign is about more than an election. It is about turning around the direction of the country. One of the ACTU’s marginal electorate organisers, Aarin Moon talked to The Lamp about the campaign on the Central Coast.
“Our volunteers detect a hopeful mood of change at the next election” Aarin Moon, Organiser, Central Coast Community Union Alliance
Jocelyn Hofman, RN, Shirley Bains, QACAG and Peter Buckney, RN at the Windsor candidates’ forum.
“IT IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO THE CAMPAIGN THAT NURSES ARE INVOLVED BECAUSE PEOPLE RESPECT AND TRUST NURSES.”
Joyce Bonello at May Day 2016 16 | THE LAMP JUNE 2016
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Our marginal-seats campaign is targeting about 20 electorates around the country. Here on the Central Coast the targets are the Liberal-held seats of Dobell and Robertson, both of which need only a few hundred votes to change hands. Local members of the Alliance including nurses are running street stalls, holding rallies, doing door knocks and leafleting outside train stations and shopping centres. We held a telethon last weekend, with over 20 volunteers who live on the Central Coast phoning over 750 local union members and asking them to put the Liberals last. It is extremely important to the campaign that nurses are involved because people respect and trust nurses. I don’t think there is anything more powerful than a nurse taking time out of her already extremely busy work schedule and family commitments to approach community members on issues affecting the local hospital. It is a powerful message when nurses explain that budget cuts are preventing hospital staff from providing the best care for community members who are sick. Our volunteers detect a hopeful mood of change at the next election. Cuts to health and education are big issues here. We’ve suffered cuts of $290 million to Wyong and Long Jetty hospitals and $490 million to Gosford and Woy Woy hospitals. The lack of attention to creating local jobs on the coast is another big issue. A lot of people are forced to commute to jobs in Sydney or Newcastle every day and they are angry we have lazy MPs who haven’t stood up for local jobs. They’re also angry that our MPs are silent when it comes to things like defending penalty rates for hospitality workers.
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FEDERAL ELECTION 2016
Get involved Do you live on the Central coast and want to get involved? Contact the Central Coast Community Union Alliance:
0411 215 430 cccua@lucc.org.au
Aged Care nurse Margie Scott speaking at the Penalty Rates Press Conference
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issues unions want at the heart of the election
There are six pillars to the ACTU’s Building A better Future campaign. They are about protecting living standards for Australian working people.
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Workers’ Rights: Defended and extended with secure jobs. edicare: Universal healthcare for all M Australians.
Wollongong Hospital nurses speak out
Education: The highest quality for all Australians.
Public Services: Owned by everyone for the benefit of everyone.
A Secure Retirement: Decent pensions and superannuation. Fair Go For All: Everyone supported A and everyone contributes their fair share of tax.
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NSW marginal seats at the forefront of the ACTU campaign
Peter Buckney speaking at the Windsor Forum
Page
Lindsay
Dobell
Macquarie
Robertson
Gilmore
Macarthur
Eden-Monaro
Banks
New England
Reid
Patterson
Tamworth members create a great photo and media opportunity. THE LAMP JUNE 2016 | 17
AGED CARE
Another blow to aged care The NSW government has delivered a body blow to the safety and quality of care in nursing homes. The NSW government will ignore public opinion and abandon the requirement for nursing homes to have a registered nurse on duty around the clock. The decision contradicts the unanimous recommendation of a parliamentary inquiry supported by the Baird government’s own MPs. NSW Health Minister Jillian Skinner said aged care facilities were now regulated by federal law and it would “duplicate regulatory process” to keep the NSW rule. However the parliamentary inquiry found that NSW should retain a 24/7 nursing rule because the current federal regulation fails to ensure safe staffing levels and registered nurse care for residents. Federal law does not specify the number and skill mix of staff in aged care facilities. The government’s decision ignores appeals from a wide range of nursing, seniors and health advocacy groups and a 25,000-signature petition circulated by the NSWNMA. NSWNMA General Secretary Brett Holmes said the union would fight the removal of protective legislation that had been in place for over 25 years in NSW. “The NSW Government is setting Australians up for more horror stories of neglect and unnecessary hospitalisation,” he said.
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AGED CARE IN DANGER Along with the federal government’s move to slash $1.2 billion in funding from the budget for nursing home residents with complex health care needs, the NSW decision puts the state’s aged care sector in serious danger, Brett warned. “We fear both revisions are a recipe for disaster in NSW, promoting a dangerous model of care that permits completely untrained staff to manage patients with complex care needs in residential aged care. “By removing legal requirements for RNs, the State government is destabilising the entire skilled staff structure, creating a knock-on effect that eliminates the need for Directors of Nursing and means Enrolled Nurses will be unable to operate within their professional guidelines.” Fifteen organisations sent an open letter to Mrs Skinner demanding she revise state legislation to keep the requirement for RNs. They included the Council on the Ageing, Cancer Council NSW, Alzheimer’s Australia, National Seniors and the Australia and New Zealand Society for Geriatric Medicine. The Combined Pensioners and Superannuants Association said it was “gobsmacked” by the minister’s response. “The only benefit of removing the 24/7 registered nurse requirement is increased profits for nursing homes,” said Ellis Blaikie, CPSA senior policy adviser. Greens MP Jan Barham said the Baird Government had ignored a parliamentary recommendation supported by its own MPs and even NSW Health.
Battle is not over – delegates NSWNMA delegates held a protest rally outside Health Minister Jillian Skinner’s office following her decision to remove the requirement for round-the-clock nursing in aged care. One delegate, Linda Hardman, said: “I feel very strongly about this appalling decision and I’m not one to sit on the sidelines. “It’s been a really long campaign, we’ve tried our hardest and we haven’t given up yet. The battle is far from over.” Linda, an assistant in nursing at Wollongong Nursing Home in Figtree, said quality aged care was a product of teamwork between RNs, ENs and AINs. “As an AiN I report directly to the EN or RN, feed them information about the residents and tell them if I notice any change in the residents, because it could mean something very serious. “The needs of residents are much higher than they used to be, and more multi faceted. There are more behavioural problems and mental health issues. “Removing RNs will definitely put the standard of care at risk. “More of our frail elderly will be sent to hospital where they will be in unfamiliar surroundings cared for by unfamiliar staff. “That will cause more upset for them and their families and put a lot more pressure on the public system and increase the chance of bed block.” Linda said it was vital that dementia patients be cared for in familiar surroundings.
“WE’VE TRIED OUR HARDEST AND WE HAVEN’T GIVEN UP YET. THE BATTLE IS FAR FROM OVER.” — Linda Hardman, AiN
How you can help ontact your state MP and urge them to oppose C changes to the Public Health Act in NSW that permit the removal of registered nurses in all aged care facilities with residents with high care needs
Passing the buck to public Hospitals Tamworth RN Gerard Ryan agreed that dementia patients rely on continuity of care and usually react badly to unfamiliar hospital environments. “I’ve been caring for some residents for 10 years so I know them and their families very well,” said Ryan, who works at Uniting Care’s McKay House. “Dealing with them every day you become aware of the triggers for adverse behaviour. One of these is pain but residents sometimes don’t know they are in pain, or can’t articulate it. “It is the RN’s job to administer pain relief especially Schedule 8 medication. “I was an AiN while I did my training and I have nothing but the highest regard for AiNs. “However if you remove RNs you run the risk of AiNs being forced to make decisions they are not qualified to make. “At the very least they will be sending people to hospital who could be treated in the nursing home by a RN. “Emergency department staff are stretched very thin now but that will only get worse.”
end a message to the NSW Minister of Health S to outline your concern office@skinner. minister.nsw.gov.au or send a pre-worded message directly www.nswnma.asn.au/getinvolved/aged-care-nurses peak to your local media and highlight your S concerns about the removal of nurses in aged care facilities ign the change.org petition started by Christy S Mahon, a member of the community www. change.org/p/premier-mike-baird-nswnursinghomes-must-employ-registerednurses-24-7 isit the union’s website for action updates and V to register your support www.nswnma.asn.au mail the federal party leaders and make E aged care the priority this election at icareandivote.com.au
THE LAMP JUNE 2016 | 19
SUPERANNUATION
Senate report advocates boost to women’s retirement incomes Structural change to Australia’s retirement income system is needed to improve women’s economic security when their working days have ended.
Employers should be obliged to pay part time and casual workers superannuation no matter how little they earn, a Senate committee of inquiry has recommended. Currently employers do not have to pay super for an employee earning less than $450 a month. The inquiry called for the Sex Discrimination Act to be amended to make it easier for employers to offer female employees better super packages. It also said paid parental leave should include super. In a cross-party report the inquiry recommended a major shake up across a number of policy areas to improve women’s security in retirement. The report puts forward 17 recommendations to bolster women’s retirement incomes including one – the retention of the Low Income Superannuation Contribution – that the government later adopted in its May budget. The report found that the main reason for the super gender gap is women’s lower average lifetime earnings. Alarmingly, the report found the super gender gap would not narrow over the next 40 years without major structural reforms to the sector. The report was widely welcomed by the industry superannuation sector. ”The report warns that women currently in their 20s will be retiring in 40 years time just as financially disadvantaged as they are today,” said Robbie Campo, Deputy Chief Executive of Industry Super Australia. “This requires serious, immediate structural reform of the retirement income system…to accommodate women’s broken work patterns. “The report confirms that Australian women are retiring with half the retirement savings of men due to a number of factors including unequal pay and broken patterns of employment to care for family. “This is compounded by a superannuation system designed last century based on the full-time, unbroken work pattern of most men.”
A plan to improve economic security for women in retirement Key policy recommendations in the Senate report: • r edirect super tax concessions which benefit high earners, to assist lower income earners who typically have lower superannuation balances – mainly women • pay superannuation on paid parental leave • increase the superannuation guarantee (SG) rate to 12 per cent earlier than the current timetable of 2025 • remove the exemption from paying the superannuation guarantee for employees whose salary or wages are less than $450 a month • abandon the proposal to increase the age pension retirement eligibility age to 70 • ensure superannuation contributions of lower income earners are not taxed at a higher rate than their ordinary income.
“THE REPORT FOUND THE SUPER GENDER GAP WOULD NOT NARROW OVER THE NEXT 40 YEARS WITHOUT MAJOR STRUCTURAL REFORMS TO THE SECTOR.” 20 | THE LAMP JUNE 2016
“IT’S UNACCEPTABLE ONLY AROUND 33 PER CENT OF TAX CONCESSIONS FLOW TO WOMEN AND A MORE EQUITABLE RE-DIRECTION MUST BE PART OF THIS YEAR’S TAX REFORMS TO PROVIDE A FINANCIAL STEP UP FOR MILLIONS OF LOWER INCOME WORKERS.”
A husband is not a retirement plan Robbie Campo, Deputy Chief Executive of Industry Super Australia, says without action one third of single women will retire in poverty. Since the 1980s, wave after wave of educated female workers has swept into the labour market transforming our workforce and perspective about ‘a woman’s place’ in the world. While times have clearly changed beyond recognition, the old systems – and thinking – are yet to produce a retirement income policy fit for purpose in the 21st century. The scenario policymakers need to consider is this: no matter how organised, hard-working, educated, committed, experienced, loyal, intelligent, gifted or highly ranked a woman may be, her work pattern is likely to be interrupted and slow-tracked at least once, if not a number of times, by parenthood and family responsibilities. This is dictated by biological reality and social expectation, and remains a fact of life for the vast majority of Australian women. Add to this the lower pay attached to female-dominated industries such as nursing, education, childcare and social services compared with male-dominated industries – a sexist legacy from the not too distant past when women’s pay was deliberately set at a discount rate for a variety of spurious reasons by lawmakers. Over a lifetime, these differences create a chasm in earnings and economic security between the sexes. For example, a woman with a bachelor degree will earn $1.26 million over her lifetime while a man earns $3.66 million.
On average, the disparity creates a jaw-dropping 47 per cent superannuation gap in retirement. So how in 2016 do we shift historical baggage and re-design a system that reflects real life for 50 per cent of the population? At the top of the ‘to do’ list are some obvious changes, starting with tax concessions on super. These flow most abundantly to rich, older men in no need of government assistance whatsoever for a wellpadded retirement, while an enormous number of working women not only miss out on any tax break, their super is taxed harder than their take home pay. It’s no surprise that 70 per cent of single women receive the full age pension. It’s unacceptable only around 33 per cent of tax concessions flow to women and a more equitable re-direction must be part of this year’s tax reforms to provide a financial step up for millions of lower income workers. A common misconception is that women can fall back on their partner for financial security in later life – based on outdated notions of the male breadwinner. Here are the unvarnished statistics: a third of women aren’t in relationships when they retire and on current projections 40 per cent of couples won’t have enough to retire comfortably. Regardless, a woman’s right to financial security in retirement shouldn’t depend on her relationship status. THE LAMP JUNE 2016 | 21
ROYAL STORY COMMISSION COVER
Bank scandals cry out for a royal commission Despite scandals that have hurt many customers the Turnbull government claims a royal commission into the banks is unnecessary. Meanwhile it is trying to get mileage out of Tony Abbott’s discredited royal commission into unions. Australia is “a bit of a paradise for white-collar crime”. So said Greg Medcraft, chairman of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), the corporate regulator, in 2014. There have been more than a dozen major scandals involving banks, insurance companies and other arms of the finance industry over the past decade. Customers have been defrauded of well over one billion dollars. Labor and the Greens have promised a royal commission to clean up the finance industry. “There are literally tens of thousands of victims if not more. This string of scandals has to stop,” said Labor leader Bill Shorten. The call for a royal commission is backed by economic commentators, the Australian Shareholders Association and National Party Senator John Williams who said: “We get dog products, dog advice in a culture of profit, profit, profit and to hell with everyone’s security.” However the Turnbull government is unwilling to take on the banks, which are generous donors to the Liberal Party. 22 | THE LAMP JUNE 2016
The prime minister is a former banker, as are his Assistant Treasurer and Cabinet Secretary. “Our banking system is well regulated,” insisted Turnbull’s Finance Minister Mathias Cormann in April. Instead, the government has hypocritically deployed as an election campaign weapon the findings of the royal commission into unions set up by former PM Abbott. A POLITICISED INQUIRY The revelation that royal commissioner Dyson Heydon agreed to speak at a Liberal Party fundraiser exposed the politicised nature of his inquiry. Even the Sydney Morning Herald called on Abbott to remove Heydon. The royal commission revealed a handful of instances of alleged corruption – which have yet to be proven in a court of law – in a movement with 46 different unions, more than 5000 paid officials and almost two million members. However most of the commission’s findings were attempts to “criminalise” industrial action aimed at organising and bargaining for working people.
‘OUR BANKING SYSTEM IS WELL REGULATED’ — Finance Minister Mathias Cormann
As the respected ABC journalist Stephen Long commented: “It occurred to few reporters covering the Trade Union Royal Commission to question the tactics. To publicly ask: should a union organiser be arrested and charged for doing his job? To ponder whether it was a stretch, even a dangerous precedent, to equate hard bargaining over pay and conditions with blackmail. To say: isn’t it more appropriate to deal with such issues through workplace relations law?” The prime minister called a double-dissolution election on the basis that the Senate refused to pass the government’s bill to establish an Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC), as recommended by Heydon. The ABCC “targets the rights of one million construction workers to be in a union and to have representation and will force workers to answer questions about their union activities or face jail time,” said ACTU Secretary Dave Oliver. The ACTU backed the stand taken by Senate crossbenchers and the Greens who called instead for a national Independent Commission Against Corruption, or ICAC, to shine a light into all areas of society including finance, business and politics. The Turnbull government countered the call for a banking royal commission by increasing ASIC’s budget. This only partially restores funding cut by the Abbott government in 2013. ASIC appears to be part of the problem; a Senate committee described it as “a timid, hesitant regulator” in 2014. SENATE RECOMMENDS ROYAL COMMISSION INTO BANKS The Senate committee recommended a banking royal commission after it examined a scandal which saw Commonwealth Bank (CBA) financial planners put clients’ money into risky investments without their permission.
‘THIS STRING OF SCANDALS HAS TO STOP’ — Opposition leader Bill Shorten
They were also accused of forging documents and earning hefty commissions along the way. Thousands of CBA customers were swindled out of their life savings and CBA is accused of trying to cover it up. Similar financial planning scandals have hit Macquarie, NAB and Westpac. In another case, the Australian Financial Review recently revealed that the CBA’s insurance arm CommInsure denied payouts to terminally ill customers despite knowing their claims were legitimate. Leading business reporter Adele Ferguson explained that life insurance companies are exempt from laws banning unfair terms in contracts, “which has resulted in some life insurers selling products with out-of-date definitions that are used to deny claims of sick and dying people.” Other recent financial scandals include the Trio Capital affair, which saw $176 million stolen from “mum and dad” investors. ASIC and other regulators were repeatedly warned about the fraud but acted too slowly to prevent the money being transferred offshore and disappearing forever. Earlier this year, former CBA employees were charged with a $76 million fraud involving an alleged Ponzi scheme at the bank that highly paid executives ignored for five years until the police got involved. ASIC is now investigating the major banks for manipulating interest rates and has laid charges against Westpac and ANZ. They allegedly conspired to fix the bank bill swap rate – the interest rate used by banks when they lend to each other. Manipulating the bank bill swap rate would push up the price of all other loans including for homes, small businesses and cars.
THE LAMP JUNE 2016 | 23
ENVIROMENTAL HEALTH
Cutting hospital waste from the bottom up A nurses’ environmental group promotes a grassroots approach to hospital sustainability.
Frustrated by an inability to order recycling bins for their emergency department, two nurses at Melbourne’s Alfred Hospital decided to take action. “We linked up with other departments and discovered pockets of green activity with ideas that could be shared,” Patricia Schwerdtle RN told a NSWNMA workshop on sustainable health care in April. Patricia is a lecturer in the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Monash University. She has worked in intensive care units and emergency departments in Australia and in primary health care overseas. She said the two nurses discovered the Alfred’s intensive care unit had achieved an impressive amount of waste reduction. But because it had not been measured, the achievements could not be replicated. She said there was no lack of awareness among staff of the need for the hospital to be environmentally sustainable. “Due to a lack of soft plastic recycling programs we had clinicians taking home newspapers, milk bottles and even clean used IV bags from dialysis. “At home people were recycling up to 60 per cent of their waste and they went to work and recycled 20 per cent. It didn’t make sense.”
months we had 150 people on our Facebook page. “Clinicians are aware of the link between climate change and human health and that is something that motivates them. “The motivation is there but it is hidden. We don’t necessarily have to inspire it, we have to harness it.” She said Green Alfred Group aims to encourage change by making people to people connections and using networks rather than relying on positional authority. “Middle management saw us as insolent and ignoring the chain of command and tried to hold us back. “We were enacting change despite policy and procedure rather than because of it.” Green Alfred Group’s achievements include the elimination of staff use of foam cups, increased recycling and the creation of seven Environmental Sustainability Representatives (ESRs) who strive to implement green initiatives specific to their workplaces – for example battery recycling. Other successful initiatives include sustainability orientation for new staff and ‘Waste Week’. “Goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, with a time target for completion,” Patricia said.
CONCERNED NURSES ACT TO REDUCE CARBON FOOTPRINT The two nurses used simple signage to lobby for the elimination of foam cups. That led to the formation of the Green Alfred Group by employees concerned about climate change and committed to reducing the carbon footprint of Alfred Health, comprising the Alfred, Caulfield and Sandringham hospitals. She describes the group as “a grassroots, bottom-up change initiative.” “We set up a Twitter page and made a recruitment video for You Tube. Within eight
INFLUENCING HOSPITAL POLICY The group’s presentation to Alfred Health executive committee caused it to switch its environmental sustainability meetings from once a year to monthly and a group representative now sits on the committee. “The group aims to influence hospital procurement by asking equipment nurses to look at the life cycles of products they trial and consider their sustainability and reusability,” she said. “All of these activities build a culture that is environmentally conscious.” The group published an open letter to the Alfred Health executive arguing for the adoption of an environmental policy. “Having such a policy is ac-
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‘MIDDLE MANAGEMENT SAW US AS INSOLENT AND TRIED TO HOLD US BACK. — Patricia Schwerdtle
tually a funding requirement and our open letter said we need to see an environmental management policy on the Internet.” Patricia is working to integrate environmental sustainability into the undergraduate nursing curriculum at Monash University. The university currently teaches the link between planet health and human health, the effects of climate change on human health and the health benefits of carbon reduction. It aims in 2017 to teach the following: • List ways in which nurses can improve their personal and organisational carbon footprint • Evaluate the sustainability of commonly used products in health care • Hypothesise the impact on patient care if commonly used products were no longer available.
Focus on action Nurses have great potential to improve hospital environmental policies and practices, says Patricia Schwerdtle. She points out that nurses are the largest occupational group in health care. “There are a quarter of a million nurses and midwives in Australia – three times the number of doctors. “Nurses are trialling, using and disposing of products, using procedures that require energy and water and identifying environmental hazards – and we also create the most waste. “Nurses are also well represented in all levels of governance which gives us the ability to speak out and advocate for environmental sustainability. “Hospitals are little cities and their environmental footprint is huge. “There is a whole lot of evidence on the link between climate change and human health. “We need to leave the doubters behind and focus our energy on action. The time to act is now.”
THE LAMP JUNE 2016 | 25
ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
Nurses’ voice needed in chemical purchasing Nurses urged to get involved in purchasing decisions that impact the health of the workplace and the planet Nurses should play an active role in choosing chemicals and other products purchased by hospitals, says a global authority on environmentally sustainable health care. Susan Wilburn, sustainability director of Health Care Without Harm (HCWH), was speaking at a NSWNMA workshop on sustainable health care. She is a former United States nurse and World Health Organisation occupational health specialist. HCWH is an international coalition of more than 500 member organisations in 53 countries. It aims to promote safe and environmentally healthy practices, processes and products in health care. Susan urged nurses to seek to work with hospital managements to choose the safest chemicals and the most environmentally friendly products. She suggested nurse unions push for enterprise agreements to include policies that give preference to purchasing products that do the least environmental damage. Nurse union representatives should sit on product evaluation committees and refuse to buy from manufacturers who fail to adequately disclose product hazards. “Make sure manufacturers are not allowed to hide behind trade secrets to keep hazards off product labels,” she said. “Ensure that safety data sheets are available for all chemicals being used on every unit and that staff are trained in how to read them.” HCWH works to substitute harmful chemicals with safer alternatives and manage and properly dispose of pharmaceuticals so they do not become pollutants. She said hospitals had made progress in protecting the health of staff and patients. Examples included the introduction of IV piggybacks to administer supplemental drugs, which had reduced needle stick injuries. The promotion of latex-free environments had protected more staff and patients from asthma and anaphylaxis. MORE ACTION NEEDED ON TOXIC CHEMICALS However further action was needed to substitute chemicals such as the sterilising agents glutaraldehyde – commonly used in endoscopy – and ethylene oxide.
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“Glutaraldehyde evaporates easily at room temperature, exposing everyone in that air space. It is known to cause occupational asthma and now that many regulators have created exposure limits it becomes practical and less expensive to substitute it with other products, such as peracetic acid.” Action by the British union the Royal College of Nursing had contributed to the manufacturer withdrawing glutaraldehyde from the market in 2002. It was replaced by products such as peracetic acid – “only slightly less toxic but usually used in a closed system” – and hydrogen peroxide. “The college’s action in representing nurses suffering asthma before the workers compensation board led to the setting of safe exposure limits. The college identified alternatives to glutaraldehyde and educated their health and safety representatives in all workplaces.” Susan described ethylene oxide as a known human carcinogen that probably causes birth defects in foetuses. It was difficult to find alternatives for ethylene oxide but they were available and “many of our colleagues are saying we should be arguing for its elimination globally.” She said action was also needed on chemicals present in materials and medical devices. For example polyvinyl chloride (PVC) was present in 25 per cent of health products and contained the additive diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) to make it flexible. “DEHP has been found to leach into the blood vessels of neonates who are being infused with IVs plasticised in this way. “DEHP damages the liver, kidney, lungs and reproductive system and has been shown to reduce IQ.” She said Bisphenol A (BPA) – “a known endocrine disrupter associated with alterations in breast, prostate and brain development” – was banned for use in children’s toys in Europe but not from use in bio-medical devices. HEALTH SECTOR IS BIG CONTRIBUTOR TO GREENHOUSE GASES Susan said incineration of medical waste such as PVC was a source of dangerous air pollutants including dioxins and other carcinogens. “A study in Oregon of medical waste incineration showed neonates and health workers had levels of dioxin in their blood as
‘MAKE SURE MANUFACTURERS ARE NOT ALLOWED TO HIDE BEHIND TRADE SECRETS.’ — Susan Wilburn a result of this exposure. “We should think about how we can manage purchasing around the toxicity of products – eliminating PVC, eliminating mercury, less allergens and latex free.” Susan described the health sector as a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, which lead to global warming. For example, the British National Health Service represented one quarter of the UK’s public sector ‘carbon footprint’ – a measure of greenhouse gases. “Sixty five per cent of NHS emissions come from the procurement of products and supplies – mostly pharmaceuticals,” she said. Anaesthetic gases were potent greenhouse gases at 400 to 1000 times the equivalent of carbon dioxide and made up three per cent of the UK hospital system’s carbon footprint. “They are also reproductive hazards which we learned because anaesthesiologists were having still births and being unable to get pregnant. “Research is going on into how to recycle and reuse them.” Susan also advocates reducing packaging by buying in bulk and buying products with recycled content. Products should be reused where possible: “We went from bedpans which were disinfectible and reusable to pans made of paper and cardboard and now fortunately we are going back to reusable.” Energy efficiency of products also needs attention, Susan said. “Many biomedical devices are high energy users but are not labelled for their energy efficiency – unlike household products such as refrigerators. This is something we need to change.”
Start small to eliminate hazards The subject of hazardous chemicals can be overwhelming so choose one chemical to learn more about and become the expert for your colleagues in the workplace. That’s Susan Wilburn’s advice to nurses looking for ways to improve the environmental health of their hospital. “We need to seek opportunities to eliminate dangerous products,” she says. “For example, we used to use toxic degreasers which are related to asthma, to remove wax from shiny floors. “If we decided to have our floors clean but not shiny we wouldn’t need to use wax removers.”
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Join TUH health fund and we’ll come to the party with $3,100.
Win $3,100* Hurry! Only until June 30.
Now’s the time to join TUH, the health fund for union members and their families. Join before June 30 and you’ll go in the draw to win 31 hundred dollars to throw a massive party, or do whatever you like. Speaking of 31, if you’ve turned 31 years old in the last 12 months and never had private hospital cover, you should join ASAP, because premiums will become more expensive from June 30 if you are 31 or older. So whether you’re 31, 41 or would rather not say, join TUH now for your chance to win. (And if you’re already a TUH member, refer a friend to join and you’ll both go in the draw to win. Now that would be some party!)
Already a member? Refer a friend to win!
To find out more visit tuh.com.au/lamp. Or call 1300 360 701. * Competition ends 30 June 2016. For full terms and conditions go to tuh.com.au NSW Permit No. LTPS/16/03745
The Edith Cavell Trust
Scholarships for the academic year 2017 Applications for the Edith Cavell Trust Scholarships are now being accepted for the academic year 2017. Members or Associate Members of the NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association or the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (NSW Branch) are invited to apply. All grants, awards or loans shall be made to financially assist nurses, midwives, assistants in nursing, assistants in midwifery (including students of those disciplines), and accredited nursing or midwifery organisations, schools and faculties in the furtherance of: (i) accredited nursing or midwifery studies; (ii) such academic research programs as are approved by the Trustees in the theory or practice of nursing or midwifery work; or (iii) clinical nursing education programs at graduate, post-graduate and continuing education professional development level; in accordance with a number of categories. Full details of the scholarship categories, how to apply and to obtain the official application form is available from the NSWNMA website. Prior to applying, please ensure you have read the Edith Cavell Trust Scholarship rules.
Applications close 5pm on 31 July 2016
Cavell 2 8Edith | TH E L A2017.indd M P J U N1E 2 0 1 6
WWW.NSWNMA.ASN.AU – click on ‘Education’ For further information contact: Scholarship Coordinator – The Edith Cavell Trust, 50 O’Dea Avenue, Waterloo, NSW 2017 T Matt West on 1300 367 962 E mawest@nswnma.asn.au 22/02/2016 3:05 PM
FRENCH UNIONS
Labour law reform paralyses France Unions are strongly resisting a government attempt to make the French work longer with less job protection.
‘Politicians are looking for solutions where they can in the same way the proverbial drunk is looking for his keys under the light by the lamp post.’
France has been rocked by nationwide strikes and mass protests against government attempts to reform the French Labour Code (“Code du Travail”), considered one of Europe’s most progressive. Protest marches attended by as many as one million people have been held in cities across France. Strikes by railway and port workers have halved train services and prompted cancellation of ferry links to Britain. Truck drivers have blockaded highways and hundreds of flights have been cancelled due to strikes by air traffic controllers. Anger over the labour law reform has broadened into a more general protest against the deeply unpopular government of President Francois Hollande. The government used the emergency powers of the French constitution to push through the labour reforms with little debate and without parliament’s approval. It even failed to win the support of at least 40 of its own Socialist Party deputies. Hollande says the labour reform bill is needed to promote the competitiveness of businesses operating in France and reduce unemployment – now around 10 per cent. Unions see it as an attack on workers’ fundamental rights and a severe reduction in employment conditions.
The bill also makes it easier to get rid of employees and allows companies to reach “agreements” with staff over working conditions without the need to negotiate with unions. One controversial provision allows companies to fire employees on economic grounds if the company is losing money in France – even if it makes profits abroad. A leading European labour law specialist, Associate Professor Robert Hancké at the London School of Economics, says the measures will do little to promote French economic growth and employment. “The problem with France is simple: it is in a monetary union with Germany, a much stronger, better-organised, economy and therefore pays a high cost in no longer being able to control the main levers of economic adjustment, from interest rates via exchange rates to social policy,” he says. “Because they no longer can rely on those instruments, politicians are looking for solutions where they can in the same way the proverbial drunk is looking for his keys under the light by the lamp post. He did not get home safely.” Strong resistance from unions and other groups forced a previous French government to abandon a 2006 attempt to make it easier to dismiss workers aged below 26.
A DEEPLY UNPOPULAR LAW The bill, which pollsters say is opposed by three in four French people, expands the 35-hour work week to 46 hours. The 35hour week was legislated in 2000.
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CAT
EDU
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EDUCATION@NSWNMA
what’s ON june 2016
PRACTICAL, POSITIVE WAYS IN MANAGING STRESS AND BURNOUT – 1 Day n Friday 17 June, Gymea n Monday 8 August, Waterloo Members $85 | Non-members $170
Enrolled Nurses’ Forum FRIDAY 17 JUNE
Hear from a range of speakers, network with colleagues and share experiences across the enrolled nursing profession. PROGRAM: All about your CPD and ANMF Online Education Program Jodie Davis, ANMF Federal Education Officer
An Introduction to Ethics
ARE YOU MEETING YOUR CPD REQUIREMENTS? – ½ Day An essential ½ day workshop for all nurses and midwives to learn about CPD requirements and what’s involved in the process. n Wednesday 22 June, Newcastle n Thursday 7 July, Dubbo n Thursday 25 August, Wagga Wagga Members $40 | Non-members $85 LEGAL AND PROFESSIONAL ISSUES FOR NURSES AND MIDWIVES – ½ Day
Learn about potential liability, disciplinary tribunals, NMC and HCCC complaints, Coroners Court and more. n Thursday 23 June, Newcastle n Friday 8 July, Dubbo n Friday 26 August, Wagga Wagga Members $40 | Non-members $85
Jodie Davis, ANMF Federal Education Officer
FOOT CARE FOR NURSES – 2 Days
Changes to the Enrolled Nurse Scope of Practice
n Thursday 23 & Friday 24 June, Waterloo Members $203 | Non-members $350
Catherine Smith, NMBA State Board
Regulation of Nurses in NSW: What happens when a complaint is made about a nurse? Dr Margaret Cooke, Nursing and Midwifery Council of NSW
Enrolled Nursing: What’s Your Relevance? Annie Butler, ANMF Assistant Federal Secretary
Who is NENA? Your questions answered Christine Anderson, Vice President, National Enrolled Nurse Association (NENA)
NSWNMA 50 O’DEA AVENUE WATERLOO 9.00AM TO 3.30PM Members $30 Non-Members $50 Lunch and refreshments provided
Register online
WWW.NSWNMA.ASN.AU/EDUCATION/
For enquiries call 8595 1234 (METRO) 1300 367 962 (RURAL) 30 | THE LAMP JUNE 2016
POLICY AND GUIDELINE WRITING FOR NURSES AND MIDWIVES – 1 Day n Thursday 28 July, Parramatta Members $85 | Non-members $170
PRACTICAL SKILLS IN MANAGING DIFFICULT AND AGGRESSIVE CLIENTS – 2 Days
This 2-day program is designed for general nurses, aged care nurses, midwives and staff at any level who has interaction with clients and/or relatives. n Thursday 4 August & Thursday 8 September, Waterloo Members $160 | Non-members $250
TOOLS IN MANAGING CONFLICT AND DISAGREEMENT – 1 Day n Wednesday 17 August, Gymea Members $85 | Non-members $170
Register online
WWW.NSWNMA.ASN.AU/ EDUCATION/ EDUCATION-CALENDAR
For enquiries contact NSWNMA Metro: 8595 1234 Rural: 1300 367 962
ASK JUDITH WHEN IT COMES TO YOUR RIGHTS AND ENTITLEMENTS AT WORK, NSWNMA ASSISTANT GENERAL SECRETARY JUDITH KIEJDA HAS THE ANSWERS. Rosters in aged care I am an Assistant in Nursing and work part time in an aged care facility. Recently we were told our rosters were to be changed and as a result they would not be able to maintain my contracted hours and current shift patterns. What can I do? The Association in recent times has been involved with a number of aged care providers who are seeking to change current rostering patterns, with a consequent knock on effect of trying to reduce staffing hours. Most enterprise agreements covering aged care facilities contain provisions relating to workplace change. Obligations imposed on the employer include providing proper notification and clearly setting out the proposed change in writing; the effect the changes will have; and what can be done to mitigate or avert any adverse impact. Importantly, most agreements contain the right for employees to ‘appoint’ a representative to accompany them to meetings or represent their interests directly with the employer. This representative can be the Association, and would generally require a written notification by the employee nominating us. If the employer is approaching the matter from a strictly black letter law perspective, and does not wish to banish such formalities, written appointment would be required. Unfortunately in our experience, some employers are more concerned with introducing an abundance of red tape and technical debating points, rather than getting on with the job of consulting members and the Association in an attempt to resolve the issues raised in a meaningful way.
Career breaks in the Public Health System I work full time as a Registered Nurse at a public hospital. Recently somebody mentioned to me that the award has a career break scheme where I can work four years and get the fifth off. Is that right? Under Clause 56 of the Public Health System Nurses’ and Midwives’ (State) Award 2015, permanent staff can elect to participate in a career break scheme. At its simplest, it permits an employee to defer 20% of their salary for four years and be paid this deferred salary in the fifth year (when off from work). A number of checks and balances
BREAKING NEWS DEVELOPMENTS AT NORTHERN BEACHES HOSPITAL Members will recall that despite the protests and concerns raised by members and the Association, the NSW Government entered into a contractual relationship with Healthscope, who will build, operate and provide services at the new Northern Beaches Hospital (in lieu of those public services that otherwise are provided at Manly and Mona Vale Hospitals). Healthscope will also become the employing entity of all staff working at the site (excluding certain staff on rotations from the LHD). Since that announcement, public health unions have struggled to receive definitive answers on a number of issues. This led to growing confusion and uncertainty for existing staff. As a result, the Association in conjunction with other unions and Unions NSW pushed for such answers to be provided now. After a bit of argy bargy, a very useful log of the issues has been created that has the current status of each issue (see General Secretary Circular 58/2016). While pleasing that progress has been made, much more work still needs to be done prior to the opening of this new hospital (currently anticipated as being November 2018). The models of care to be utilised will likely be available for discussion midyear. This in turn will assist in the development of staffing profiles required. Transition arrangements can then be discussed. Legislative and contractual obligations imposed regarding employees’ rights and entitlements are to be further clarified for those electing to transfer to the new hospital. When reviewing the complexity of the discussions to date and the arrangements still to be arrived at – even before the hospital opens - it again highlights the questionable basis and decision to carve up the integrity of the public health system to create enclaves of private providers. The strength of the public health system comes from it being both local and part of a robust state wide framework and service – geared towards the needs of the NSW community, regardless of their circumstances. The public and private systems should be complementary, and not be characterised by cherry picking services or sites.
are involved, with some differing arrangements in place dependent on your superannuation scheme. Each public health organisation is required to call for expressions of interest from employees once each calendar year. It would be advisable that prior to considering such an election, you review Clause 56 closely, consider obtaining financial advice regarding the scheme, and/or contact the Association to discuss some of the key features of the scheme.
Political stickers on LHD cars As part of my employment in the public health system, I frequently drive a LHD vehicle. Recently we have been reminded not to place stickers on vehicles – presumably this was with one eye on the upcoming federal election. What does the Code say about such obligations? The Code of Conduct (PD2015_049) sets out that “… staff cannot … decorate official vehicles with political slogans …” [Section 4.4.2] It is also important to note that when making public comment on issues or participating in political or industrial activities, staff must not indicate or imply that any views expressed are those of NSW Health. [Section 4.3.16]
Consultation about workforce changes I am employed in a public hospital and a proposal has been put forward to establish a new Nursing Unit Manager position, while altering another. We have been told that this request will need to go to a Grading Committee. How should this proposal be handled? In the first instance any proposal that changes the profile/composition of the workforce should be subject to consultation under Clause 6 of the Public Health System Nurses’ and Midwives’ (State) Award 2015. Assuming this has occurred and consultation concluded, any request or proposal to create and/ or alter the grading of Nursing Unit Manager positions is required to be forwarded to a Grading Committee consisting of two representatives of the employer and two from the Association (as per Clause 39 of the Award). The Committee considers such requests and makes its recommendations to the employer regarding the grading and the date of effect. THE LAMP JUNE 2016 | 31
Going to work shouldn’t mean stepping into this.
ARE YOU A VICTIM OF WORKPLACE VIOLENCE? Have you or a colleague been assaulted at work? Have you reported your incident?
Download the NSWNMA App and report your workplace violence incident. The NSWNMA has a new tool as part of our NSWNMA Toolkit App that allows you to quickly report an incident to the Association as soon as it happens. It’s an easy fillable form that you can submit from your mobile device and an officer of the Association will be in touch with you. Nursing is considered one of the most dangerous professions. HELP STOP VIOLENCE AT WORK!
32 | THE LAMP JUNE 2016
NSWNMA Toolkit App is FREE and available to download from iTunes and Google Play store
SOCIAL MEDIA | NURSE UNCUT
www.nurseuncut.com.au
Do you have a story to tell? An opinion to share? NURSE UNCUT IS WRITTEN BY EVERYDAY NURSES AND MIDWIVES.
We welcome your ideas at nurseuncut@nswnma.asn.au
WHAT’S
A BLOG FOR AUSTRALIAN NURSES AND MIDWIVES
THIS MONTH
Nurse Uncut is also on Facebook: www.facebook.com/NurseUncutAustralia and on Twitter @nurseuncut
Where would pregnant women be without Medicare? Penny Howard reflects on the crucial role of Medicare in supporting her and others in her new mothers group through pregnancy http://www.nurseuncut.com.au/pennywhere-would-pregnant-women-be-without-medicare/
Student nurse: I was attacked by a patient While on placement, nursing student Jacqui was attacked by a patient. She was verbally and physically abused and assaulted. What came next was disappointing. http://www.nurseuncut.com.au/penny-where-would-pregnant-women-be-without-medicare/
Bronze memorial for WWW1 matron Alice Cashin The first Australian to be awarded a Royal Red Cross plus bar for bravery in WWI is to have a bronze statue erected next to her unmarked grave in southern Sydney. http://www.nurseuncut.com.au/bronze-memorial-for-matron-alice-cashin/
Why corporate tax avoidance is a health hazard At a time of great strain on public health and increasing out-of-pocket costs, it’s clear that corporate tax avoidance is a health hazard, writes Brett Holmes. http:// www.nurseuncut.com.au/brett-holmes-why-corporate-tax-avoidance-is-a-health-hazard/
‘Hazing’: the hostile initiation of a new nurse A teacher becomes a nurse in her 60s and encounters some hostile, bullying workplaces. www.nurseuncut.com.au/hazing-the-hostile-initiation-of-a-new-nurse
This year on Anzac Day and every Anzac Day that follows Perioperative nurse educator Sally travelled to Gallipoli last year to commemorate the nurses of Lemnos – the ‘Anzac Girls’. http://www.nurseuncut.com.au/this-year-on-anzac-day-and-every-anzac-day-that-follows/
New on SupportNurses YouTube channel RN24/7 RALLY Nurses and community protest outside the Health Minister’s office. http ://bit.ly/ skinnerrally
THE RACE TO SAVE MEDICARE There’s high drama behind this piece of street theatre. bit.ly/ Medicarerace
We’re on
Instagram! Share your photos by tagging @ nswnma and don’t forget to use the hashtag #nswnma!
Follow us on Twitter NSWNurses & Midwives @nswnma Watch us on YouTube SupportNurses Connect with us on Facebook
New South Wales Nurses and Midwives’ Association >> www.facebook.com/nswnma Ratios put patient safety first >> www.facebook.com/safepatientcare Aged Care Nurses >> www.facebook.com/agedcarenurses
Look for your local Branch page on our website. THE LAMP JUNE 2016 | 33
Your NDSS agent in NSW is
FIRST SPEAKERS ANNOUNCED
Diabetes Update Day 2016 Learn while you earn CPD points Saturday 17 September 2016, 7.30am – 4pm Australian Technology Park, Eveleigh Early Bird Registration $150
• Professor Tim Jones • Associate Professor Grant Brinkworth • Associate Professor David Sullivan REGISTER NOW! 1300 136 588 or at www.diabetesupdate2016.eventbrite.com.au
DUDAY_LAMP_AD_58x176w_FA.indd 1
9/05/2016 12:25 pm
132 mm x 200 mm
Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi is now hiring! Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi (CCAD), part of Mubadala’s network of world-class healthcare facilities, is a multispecialty hospital on Al Maryah Island in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi is a unique and unparalleled extension of US-based Cleveland Clinic’s model of care, specifically designed to address a range of complex and critical care requirements unique to the Abu Dhabi population. VACANCIES: Ophthalmic Techs, Wound/Stoma Nurses, Critical Care, Ambulatory Care Critical Care: This is an exciting challenging environment at CCAD offering world class innovative experiences and opportunities for nurses. You will be challenged with high acuity critical patients, work with a world class team and receive support to provide patient centered care. While patients are complex, CCAD will support your professional growth and offer mentorship. The team is growing and as they expand over this year they would like you to join them in Abu Dhabi. Ambulatory Care: This is a unique realm of specialized practice. You will be working in multidisciplinary teams, using critical care thinking skills to help care for patients across the continuum of care. CCAD offers multiple ambulatory clinic settings including: • Medical Sub-specialties including rheumatology, dermatology, nephrology, endocrinology, infusion center, infectious disease, hematology, and general medicine • Surgical sub-specialties including ENT, plastics and urology • Digestive disease including gastroenterology, colon-rectal, and general surgery • Neurology, neurosurgery and pain management • Ophthalmology • Heart and vascular including cardiothoracic surgery • Pulmonology including allergy and immunology
Benefits: In addition to being part of an international clinical team, successful applicants will receive accommodation, a transportation allowance, health insurance, annual travel allowance to home country and generous annual leave package.
To apply, please email: Dawn at dawn@ccmrecruitment.com.au or Raquel at raquel@ccmrecruitment.com.au or by phone at AUS: 1800 818 844, Free Phone NZ: 0800 700 839 www.ccmrecruitment.com 3 4 | T H E L A M P J U N EFree 2 0 1Phone 6
SOCIAL MEDIA | facebook
WHAT NURSES & MIDWIVES
SAID & LIKED on facebook www.facebook.com/nswnma Outrage as government rejects RNs 24/7 in aged care The decision by NSW Health Minister Jillian Skinner to drop the legal requirement for registered nurses around the clock in highneeds aged care unleashed a deluge of horrified comment on our Facebook pages. This is just a fraction of what you told us.
My mother passed away last week. I was there ensuring the RN was making her as comfortable as possible in her final hours by delivering the necessary drugs that only an RN can dispense. This is appalling – Geoff Provest you have let your constituents down. Shame on you! Broken promises to the Tweed community, our Aged Care residents and the RNs that care for the most vulnerable. As an AIN and carer for my father before his death I am almost in tears thinking of those in high care or who are palliative. As a student placement in Diversional Therapy in residential aged care, this concerns me greatly. I challenge our politicians to spend a day with a nurse in aged care & then they may learn something about humility & humanity. As a palliative care clinician and a family member with several post 80yo relatives this decision is incredibly distressing to me both personally and professionally. The real question is why the government listened to business and rejected the many concerns placed before them by carers of many backgrounds. So much has gone into this inquiry and every single point has been ignored. I feel so sorry for the ENs and AINs having to bear the burden of responsibility that the RNs take for them. Unnecessary hospitalisations! Are you kidding? Who will have the knowledge to send the residents in aged care to hospital. They will just die! Where is the government’s DUTY OF CARE? As the daughter of an 85 year old currently in hospital after a fall... the thought of her going into aged care WITHOUT RNs mortifies, angers and sickens me. Shame on you NSW government.
PHOTO GALLERY
Midwifery student Nesrine did her first solo delivery on International Midwives Day!
Central coast aged care nurses with their 2016 NSWNMA Nurse Diaries.
Scary, as a doctor I rely heavily on the nursing staff and RNs I work with are amazing – we need more not less. Being an EN in aged care, I know the pressure will now fall to us more and more. We are the cheaper option and they will use and abuse us. I see no end in sight as long as greed driven owners are allowed to keep pushing for bigger profits. Ludicrous! I’m a dietician in aged care and I absolutely support RNs there. We still have to wait and see what our employers do about this. Hopefully, the status quo will be maintained as families begin to apply pressure. Otherwise, it’s obvious. Care standards will drop, ambulance services and emergency departments will be unable to cope and the market will be flooded with newly unemployed RNs. If they are smart they won’t get rid of the RN... A selling point really... It’s sad that deserved care has become a business. When residents are in excruciating pain because RNs are not there to intervene, when residents are found acutely unwell too late, EDs are going to be bed blocked. All ED MAUs in place will fail. All OPERA Units will fail. All MAUs will fail due to the stupidity of Skinner and her cronies. Then, it’ll be a case of the old ‘blame the ED waiting times, hospital procedures and administration’ etc. for their incompetence. It’s people’s lives she’s playing with. Shame on you Skinner! How dare this subject be swiped away by our state government because it is a ‘federal government issue’? I have never heard such a pathetic, insulting reason! Let’s improve our services, and show the other states that this improved model is one we are proud of. It is a push to get people into private supported living villages. Been on the cards for a while and a way to force people to use their retirement savings on their care.
Stockton disability nurses send a message to the Department.
Aged care nurses in southwest Sydney are happy Union Shoppers.
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VALE
Margaret Florence Howard
1932 – 2016
Margaret left school aged 14 with not much education. She did not become a nurse until she was 39 years old. As her 3 children grew older she found she wanted a career. She followed her daughter into nursing. It wasn’t easy as she didn’t even have any qualifications or a driver’s licence. After studying for her nurse’s entrance she became an EN at Belmont Hospital. The study bug and her passion for nursing led her to Gosford Hospital to become an RN and midwife. Margaret moved to Wyong Hospital when it opened. Here she was well respected by staff and patients.
Margaret was an active member of the NSWNMA and was a branch delegate for a number of years. After an accident in 1988 – when she broke her leg white water rafting she was forced to retire. In retirement she studied fine arts producing some beautiful paintings. She had some great holidays with her friends in Probus. She loved her home on the shores of Lake Munmorah where she was able to look out the windows and enjoy the beautiful surrounds. Margaret will be sadly missed by her 3 children, grandchildren, greatgrandchildren and many friends. Carolyn Moynihan, RN, Wyong Community Health Centre
36 | THE LAMP JUNE 2016
NURSING RESEARCH ONLINE The Association has adopted a strategic plan for the next 5 years to guide us forward as we face the challenges to our professions and the environments where we live and work. A key objective of the strategic plan is to promote a world class, well-funded integrated health system. Over the following months, this page will cover some of the issues we need your feedback on. Go online to NurseUncut to share your wisdom and experience. The links at the end of this article provide further reading. This month we look at end of life issues.
Dying with dignity End of life care and the sometimes passionate debates that surround it will become even more prominent as demographic changes will see the number of people dying each year in Australia double over the next 25 years. The NSWNMA has a longstanding policy on nursing care for the person who is dying that emphasises the right of the person who is dying to informed choice, autonomy, dignity and early access to palliative care.1 Our current position would be cold comfort for those in unrelievable pain who have decided that they want to take active steps to hasten their deaths. A number of cases in Australia illustrate the legal precariousness of family and friends motivated by love and compassion who seek to assist a loved one and the many scenarios where someone who has chosen to take those final steps must do so alone in order to protect their loved ones from prosecution. Health systems have traditionally been preoccupied with keeping people alive for as long as possible. This has led to the continuation of life at all costs, and often results in increased stress and lower quality of life which has led to debate as to the value of prolonging life for the very old or those with currently incurable conditions. Most Australians would prefer to die at home but only 14% do. While 70% of deaths are expected, half of deaths occur in hospitals and another third in residential care.2 There has been a rise in advance care planning in recent years. As medical technology and the ability to keep people alive using potentially burdensome and invasive means have evolved, there has been an increasing realisation by patients, families and health professionals that life-prolonging treatments are not always appropriate.3 Advance care planning is a process of planning for future health and personal care whereby the person‘s values, beliefs and preferences are made known so they can guide decision-making at a future time when the person cannot make or communicate their decisions. Advance care planning is usually undertaken within a health or aged care setting and with the assistance of trained professionals after a person has been diagnosed with life-limiting condition.
It requires respect for the person and their autonomy.4 GOOD PEOPLE DYING BAD DEATHS Andrew Denton is working hard for policy change to allow people to end their own lives with medical assistance prompted by the slow painful death of his father. Andrew will be presenting his case at NSWNMA Professional Day on 20 July. He has also put together a 17-episode podcast called Better Off Dead5 investigating the stories, moral arguments and individuals woven into discussions about why good people are dying bad deaths in Australia. A recent episode of Compass, “A Good Exit: who decides”6 has also sought to tease out some of the complexities of dying in Australia today with a range of perspectives, including Denton, a Professor in ageing, ethics and medical decisions at end of life, a palliative care physician, a Jesuit priest and professor of law and an ethicist researcher and educator. While it is regrettable that a consumer perspective was not included, it is a worthwhile program for those interested. The NSWNMA is very keen to hear your views on this and related topics. We are particularly interested in the views of palliative care nurses. A number of questions will be attached to a NurseUncut discussion forum and we encourage anyone to put their views forward. www.nurseuncut.com.au/vision-statements
More information
Dying Well Swerissen, H and Duckett, S., 2014, Dying Well. Grattan Institute http://grattan.edu.au/wp-content/ uploads/2014/09/815-dying-well.pdf Better Off Dead Denton, A. 2016 http://www.wheelercentre.com/broadcasts/ podcasts/better-off-dead?show_all=true A Good Exit: Who decides ABC Compass http://iview.abc.net.au/programs/compass
14%
of Australians die at home
50%
of deaths occur in hospitals
36%
of deaths occur in residential care
We want to hear what you think Please go to Nurse Uncut to read more about the current state of End of life issues and give us your feedback on our strategic plan:
www.nurseuncut. com.au/visionstatements3/ NSW NurSeS aNd midWiveS’ aSSociatioN
Strategic Plan
2015
to
2020
1. http://www.nswnma.asn.au/publications/policies-and-procedures/ 2. http://grattan.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/815-dying-well.pdf 3. http://advancecareplanning.org.au/ 4. A HMAC National Working Group, A National Framework for Advance Care Directives, Consultation Draft, September 2009 5. http://www.wheelercentre.com/broadcasts/podcasts/better-off-dead?show_all=true 6. http://iview.abc.net.au/programs/compass THE LAMP JUNE 2016 | 37
Congratulations
to the NSWNMA Team who participated in the
MoTher’S DAy ClASSiC on Sunday 8 May
Over 65 members, NSWNMA staff and family joined together to walk or run, and together, We rAiSeD over $3,000 to fund vital research in the prevention and cure of breast cancer. Thank you to everyone who donated and supported our team.
Corporate cover that looks after your health and wellbeing We’ve teamed up with NSW Health to bring you great value corporate health cover. You can look forward to competitive corporate premiums and benefits such as: •
•
•
upa:
•
MDC congrats.indd 1
Get peace of mind, with 60% – 100% back (depending on the level of your extras cover) for selected services at Members First providers* Benefit Bonus - we will treat you like you have been a Bupa member for 3 years from day one so you can claim more back on extras straight away. To benefit, simply take out Platinum, Gold or Silver Extras cover.** Keep your mind and body active with some great member discounts including gym memberships, movie vouchers and theme park entry. Visit bupa.com.au/memberexclusives for more information A Discount off your health cover++
ATTENTION MIDWIVES Join our
11/05/2016 1:30 PM
MIDWIFERY REFERENCE GROUP
(MRG)
The NSWNMA are seeking expressions of interest from midwifery members to join our Midwifery Reference Group (MRG). The MRG is made up of skilled and experienced midwives who meet on the first Wednesday of every second month to discuss a variety of topics related to midwifery practice and professional issues. The midwives provide vital advice and assist the Association to accurately represent the interests of our members.
It’s easy to Get Bupa: corporate Visit your local
upa plan
callback@ bupa.com.au
We are seeking midwives who also have membership with the Australian College of Midwives (ACM) and who have experience working in a rural setting as well as midwives who work clinically in either a private or public setting.
Bupa centre
a Pty Ltd ABN 81 000 057 590 ondirect debit who join by 29/02/2016. Not with other offers. Excludes Active Saver where applicable and some overseas visitors cover. Valued rms apply. To be eligible for the offer, you must quote your company name when you join.
134 135
and quote ID 2111088
bupa.com.au/ corporate
user: nswhealthbupa password: healthplan
corporate callback@ bupa.com.au
Visit your local Bupa centre
Teleconferencing facilities are available at meetings for those that cannot attend in person. Please direct enquiries to: Amy Hargreaves at ahargreaves@nswnma.asn.au or Dr Janet Roden at jroden@nswnma.asn.au
^Only for new customers on combined hospital and extras cover policies issued by Bupa Australia Pty Ltd ABN 81 000 057 590 ondirect debit who join by 29/02/2016. Not with other offers. Excludes Active Saver where applicable and some overseas visitors cover. Valued at approximately $100 for singles or$200 for couples or families. Other conditions and supplier terms apply. To be eligible for the offer, you must quote your company name when you join.
*For most items covering dental, physio and chiro services Yearly limits, fund rules and waiting periods apply. Excludes orthodontics and hospital treatments. Available on selected packages and standalone extras covers. **Benefit Bonus applies each calendar year and increases after the first 12 months from the start year. Get 2% more back on your extras claims each year, up to a maximum of 10%. Only available on Platinum, Gold and Silver Extras. Existing Bupa customers will start from year existing 3 8the| Benefit T H EBonus LAM P ofJ their UNE 2 0 1plan 6 or transfer, whatever is greatest. <br> +Discount is reviewed periodically by Bupa and your Company and is subject to change. Must pay by direct debit or payroll deduction (if available). Bupa Australia Pty Ltd ABN 81 000 057 590. Midwifery
Reference Group.indd 1
9/05/2016 2:21 PM
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Across 1. Peptic digestion (7.9) 10. Inactive but capable of becoming active (7) 11. Pitted with scars from healed pustules (10) 13. A univalent radical or atom group forming the nitroso compounds (8) 15. Circumscribed prominence (8) 17. Nuclear medicine study using a radionuclide that is confined to the vascular compartment (5.4.7) 25. Adenosine deaminase (1.1.1) 26. Pertaining to the quality of food or eating behavior that provides nourishment through assimilation of food to tissues (11) 27. Spleen (4) 29. A passage leading into a cavity (5) 30. Blocking with a an obstacle or a barrier (11) 39 | THE LAMP JULY 2015
32. To observe (6) 34. Choreic movements in the erect posture (11) 36. Replacement of the central area of an opacified cornea by an artificial lens (16) Down 2. Contrary to the usual structure, position, condition, behavior, or rule (8) 3. To persuade to by talking (4.4) 4. Unpleasantly humid; damp and chilly (4) 5. Bodies of sternum (8) 6. To lead or initiate a campaign (9) 7. Insulin autoantibodies (1.1.1) 8. Causing a stinging pain or sensation (8) 9. Herbal made from Nepeta cataria (6) 12. Enrolled Nurse (1.1) 14. Half or partly (4) 16. The conscious sense of the self (3) 17. A surgical procedure in which the bone next to the joint is modified to limit the motion of the joint (4.5)
18. A prosthetic device serving to close an opening in the body (9) 19. Diffuse axonal injury (1.1.1) 20. A smooth oval prominence of the ventrolateral surface of the medulla oblongata lateral to the pyramidal tract (5) 21. Becoming tall, thin, and loose-jointed (7) 22. Occurring in severe form, and frequently fatal (9) 23. Biliary calculus (9) 24. Relating to the intellect (6) 28. That is (1.1) 31. Theobroma (5) 33. Organs of vision (4) 35. Any device that reduces the loss of administered oxygen into the environment (1.1.1)
THE LAMP JUNE 2016 | 39
Update your membership details online and go into the draw to
win a smart watch IT’S EASY! Log into the Association’s online portal at www.nswna.asn.au to check your membership details are correct. Do this at a time that suits you and your name will automatically go in the draw to WIN AN APPLE OR ANDROID SMART WATCH*! For a chance to win, simply register with your membership number, name and email address and create your own password. Then use your member number and password to log in directly to the Members login area on the website. You can now change your details at anytime – address, workplace, credit card number, mobile number, etc. You can pay fees online, print a tax statement or request a reprint of your membership card – IT’S SIMPLE. All those who use our online portal from 1 February – 30 June 2016 will be automatically entered into the draw. *The winner will be able to select one of these watches. Winner must be a financial member of the NSWNMA.
Membership online via www.nswnma.asn.au
40 | THE LAMP JUNE 2016
POSITION VACANT
PROFESSIONAL OFFICER
The NSWNMA seeks a self-motivated nurse and/or midwife to join our Professional Services team. The successful applicant will provide professional advice to the NSWNMA officers and its members, and provide representation on professional issues on national, state and local forums. Recruitment advert half.indd 1
In this role you will: n Recruit members to the NSWNMA n Respond to and meet the information needs of our members n Identify potential professional issues of interest or concern to the members and the NSWNMA and respond accordingly n Develop and review all NSWNMA policies, position statements and guidelines in a timely fashion n Provide information and professional advice to both internal and external stakeholders n Actively represent the NSWNMA in a wide range of forums n Actively participate as a member of the Professional Services team n Provide a quality professional service to our members n Improve own professional skills and knowledge relevant to the position n Consult with members when appropriate n Ability to undertake research and interpret the results.
To be considered for this role you require: n Recognised qualifications in the field of nursing/midwifery n Demonstrated analytical and research skills and experience in the preparation of submissions and report writing n Demonstrated experience in project management, policy development and broad research skills n The ability to work independently as well as in a team n The ability to meet deadlines and manage several issues simultaneously n Excellent written and verbal communication skills n Experience in and tertiary qualifications in a relevant field n A clear understanding of trade union principles n At least two years financial membership of the NSWNMA or related union n Knowledge of contemporary nursing/midwifery and health industry standards n Public speaking experience and presentation skills n Well developed information technology skills with proven competence in the application of the Microsoft Office suite. Applications close 17 June 2016. For a full Position Description and details on how to apply, please visit www.nswnma.asn.au/jobs 24/05/2016 12:08 PM
THE LAMP JUNE 2016 | 41
Family Planning NSW
Upcoming courses for nurses Well Women’s Screening Course: 40 CPD hours
This 12 week course helps registered nurses, midwives and enrolled nurses develop confidence and competence in the provision of cervical screening. History taking and breast awareness will also be covered. • Newcastle: September 2016 • Goulburn: November 2016 • Ashfield: December 2016
Clinical Forum: August 2016 6 CPD hours
A one-day forum for doctors and nurses led by Family Planning NSW Medical Director and expert clinicians. Update your knowledge on the latest in reproductive and sexual health.
IUD Insertion Training: September 2016, Ashfield 20 CPD hours
Develop competence and skill in IUD insertion techniques. Online study, workshop, and clinical training under direct supervision of an experienced IUD insertion clinician.
Now taking enrolments. For more information or to enrol now, visit www.fpnsw.org.au or email education@fpnsw.org.au
Union Shopper Motor Market The better way to buy a car! We help members, and their families and friends, find their perfect vehicle at the best possible price! Let Union Shopper Motor Market take the hassle out of buying. We will negotiate the best price for your new car from our extensive network of dealerships thoughout Australia! Give us a call today to discuss your new vehicle requirements!
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BOOK ME All the latest Book Me reviews from The Lamp can be read online at www.nswnma.asn.au/library-services/book-reviews. Putting A Name To It: Diagnosis In Contemporary Society Annemarie Goldstein Jutel Johns Hopkins Press (through Footprint Books): www.footprint.com.au. RRP $68. ISBN 9781421415741 Diagnosis is central to medicine. It creates social order, explains illness, identifies treatments and predicts outcomes. Using concepts from medical sociology, this book explores current knowledge about the components of diagnosis to outline how a sociology of diagnosis would function. The author situates diagnosis within the broader discipline, lays out the directions it should explore, and discusses how the classification of illness and framing of diagnosis relate to social status and order. Widely praised for the author’s engaging style and skilful explanation of why diagnosis matters, this book introduces issues of great significance to the medical system today.
Integrated Approaches To Infertility, Ivf And Recurrent Miscarriage: A Handbook Justine Bold & Susan Bedford Singing Dragon (through Footprint Books): www.footprint.com.au. RRP $63. ISBN 9781848191556 Integrated approaches to infertility offer both a greater awareness and understanding of the combination of factors that can influence the chances of success when undergoing different types of Assisted Reproduction Techniques. This book includes contributions from leading experts and covers everything from identifying and treating conditions that may reduce fertility, including endometriosis and immunological abnormalities. It further describes how Complementary and Alternative Medicine treatment options like nutrition, acupuncture, reflexology and yoga can support couples going through assisted reproduction. There is also a chapter that looks specifically at support for the over 40s.
Person-Centred Practice At The Difficult Edge Peter Pearce & Lisbeth Sommerbeck
PCCS Books (through Footprint Books): www.footprint.com.au. RRP $59.95. ISBN 9781906254698
This book presents accounts of the practice of the person-centred approach with difficult client groups such as troubled adolescents and people suffering from a range of severe and/or enduring conditions. It aims to broaden the range of applications of person-centred practice and refute the notion that such therapy is only suited for the ‘worried well’. Subject areas include autism, adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse, dementia, learning disabilities, palliative care, Pre-Therapy, post-traumatic stress and psychotic process, as well as therapist limits.
DISCOUNT BOOKS FOR MEMBERS! The Library is pleased to announce that McGraw Hill Publishers are now offering members a 25% discount off the RRP! The offer currently covers medical as well as a range of other professional series books. Please see the online Book Me reviews for a link to the promotion code and further instructions, or contact the Library directly for further information.
SPECIAL INTEREST Beating The Workplace Bully: A Tactical Guide To Taking Charge Lynne Curry
AMACOM Books (through McGraw Hill Australia), www.mheducation.com.au. RRP $34.95 (Member discount available). ISBN 9780814436882 Beating the Workplace Bully shows you how to fight back and out-strategise anyone who bullies. Whether the bully is a boss or coworker, whether you’re the target of manipulation, intimidation, verbal abuse or deliberate humiliation, this book will be your personal coach. This empowering guide from the American Management Association will show you how to: avoid the typical bully traps, stay strong and move past your fear, remain calm during any confrontation, keep your dignity intact, handle sneak attacks and understand the steps that your employer or supervisors can take to address the issue.
Ebersole & Hess’ Toward Healthy Aging: Human Needs & Nursing Response (9Th Edition)S Theris Touhy & Kathleen Jett Elsevier (through JR Medical Books): www.medicalbooks.com.au. RRP $91. ISBN 9780323321389 This newest edition of the classic textbook for gerontological nursing studies includes the latest findings on biological theories of aging and evolving genomic research, as well as ethical considerations, nutritional needs, cognition and long-term care. It also covers safety, communication with the patient and caregiver, common conditions, sexuality, spiritual care, end-of-life issues and loss in the day-to-day lives of aging adults. The addition of global perspectives and cross-cultural caring further completes this comprehensive, holistic approach to gerontological nursing within a caring-based framework.
All books can be ordered through the publisher or your local bookshop. NSWNMA members can borrow the books featured here via the Library’s Online Catalogue: visit http://www.nswnma.asn.au/library-services. Call 8595 1234 or 1300 367 962, or email gensec@nswnma.asn.au for assistance with loans or research. Some books are reviewed using information supplied and have not been independently reviewed. THE LAMP JUNE 2016 | 43
NURSES & MIDWIVES: There are many benefits of being a financial member of the NSWNMA — did you know that
Authorised by B.Holmes, General Secretary, NSWNMA
YOUR MEMBERSHIP FEES COVER YOU FOR TRAVEL TO AND FROM WORK? If you are involved in an accident while travelling to or from work, NSWNMA’s Journey Accident Insurance provides you with peace of mind. In recent years this insurance has been a financial safety net for many members who have met unfortunate circumstances travelling to or from work. As a financial member of the NSWNMA you are automatically covered by this policy. It’s important to remember however, that it can only be accessed if you are a financial member at the time of the accident. So make sure your membership remains financial at all times by paying your fees by Direct Debit or Credit. Watch Alexis talk about Journey Accident Insurance
JOURNEY ACCIDENT INSURANCE
Your journey injury safety net
UNSURE IF YOU ARE FINANCIAL? IT’S EASY! Ring and check today on 8595 1234 (metro) or 1300 367 962 (rural). Change your payment information online at
44 | THE LAMP JUNE 2016
www.nswnma.asn.au
MOVIE OF THE MONTH
Hunt for the Wilderpeople is a “majestical” film that’s heart–warming, tear jerking and ridiculously funny says Sarah Jones. Just don’t let your Kiwi friends know how much you enjoyed it! Hunt for the Wilderpeople will tickle your funny bone while tugging at your heart–strings. Based on the novel by Barry Crump – ‘Wild Pork and Watercress’ – Hunt for the Wilderpeople opens with the camera sweeping over the gorgeous green New Zealand landscape, up mountains and down valleys until we come across a police car driving in the middle of nowhere. A rundown house appears and we are greeted by Bella Faulkner (Rita Te Wiata), a somewhat strange lady with a heart of gold. She is to be the newest and final foster mother of the film’s young star Ricky Baker (Julian Dennison). As Ricky surveys his new home, Paula Hall (Rachel House), child services officer, outlines the long list of misdemeanours that Ricky has committed. Despite this Bella greets Ricky with open arms although her husband Hec (Sam Neill) a gruff and grizzled bushman is not all that pleased with the new arrival. Bella and Ricky form the beginnings of a lovely relationship before tragedy strikes and Ricky and Hec’s lives are turned upside down. This is the catalyst for the film’s primary plot with Ricky running away, then being found by Hec. For a variety of reasons the unlikely pair end up on the run together from the authorities in the beautiful, dense, New Zealand bushland.
A sustained manhunt ensues filled with “ninjas”, “direwolves”, child services, a bounty, plenty of laughs as well as a few tears. There are a vast array of nods to other films including the Blues Brothers, Thelma and Louise, The Revenant, Lord of The Rings, Evolution, Terminator, Rambo and Scarface to name a few. There is rich character development along the way as Hec and Ricky’s relationship grows as they both teach and learn from each other while on the run. All the characters are hilarious even when they are playing it straight. (I think the Kiwi accent helps!). Dennison is fantastic as the “really bad egg” who just needs someone to listen to him and treat him right. He has great timing, wit and delivery and holds his own against seasoned actor Sam Neill who once again shows off his acting chops as the tough ex-con bushman wanting to mend his broken heart. Taika Waititi does an absolutely wonderful job writing and directing this film and shows off the beauty of New Zealand which I’m sure the tourism board of New Zealand will appreciate. An amazing film that sticks with you long after you watch it. Just try not to let your Kiwi friends know how much you enjoyed it! Sarah Jones is an RN at Nepean Hospital.
METROMEMBERGIVEAWAY EMAIL The Lamp BY THE 12TH OF THE MONTH TO BE IN THE DRAW TO WIN A DOUBLE PASS TO HUNT FOR THE WILDERPEOPLE THANKS TO MADMAN ENTERTAINMENT. EMAIL YOUR NAME, MEMBERSHIP NUMBER, ADDRESS AND TELEPHONE NUMBER TO lamp@nswnma. asn.au FOR A CHANCE TO WIN!
DVD SPECIAL OFFER Suffragette
Suffragette tells the story of the foot soldiers of the early feminist movement, women who were forced underground to pursue a dangerous game of cat and mouse with an increasingly brutal State. Fighting for the right to vote, these women were not only from the genteel educated classes, they were working women who had seen peaceful protest achieve nothing. Radicalised and turning to violence as the only route to change, they were willing to lose everything in their fight for equality – their jobs, their homes, their children and their lives.
RURALMEMBERGIVEAWAY EMAIL THE LAMP BY THE 15TH OF THIS MONTH TO BE IN THE DRAW TO WIN A DVD OF SUFFRAGETTE THANKS TO TRANSMISSION FILMS. EMAIL YOUR NAME, MEMBERSHIP NUMBER, ADDRESS AND TELEPHONE NUMBER TO LAMP@NSWNMA.ASN.AU FOR A CHANCE TO WIN! THE LAMP JUNE 2016 | 45
COVER STORY DIARY DATES — CONFERENCES, SEMINARS, MEETINGS DIARY DATES IS A FREE SERVICE FOR MEMBERS Please send event details in the format used here: event name, date and location, contact details – by the 5th of each month. Send your event details to: lamp@nswnma.asn.au Fax 02 9662 1414 Post 50 O’Dea Ave, Waterloo NSW 2017. All listings are edited for the purposes of style and space.
DIARY DATES IS A FREE SERVICE FOR MEMBERS lamp @ nswnma.asn.au NSW
ADEA-NSW Branch Conference 3-4 June 2016 Park Royal, Parramatta www.adea.com.au Mental Health Nurses as Meaning Makers 8-10 June 2016 Kerry Packer Education Centre, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney https://acmhn.eventsair.com/ QuickEventWebsitePortal/cl-sigpimh-sig-conference/eis International Dementia Conference 16-17 June 2016 Hilton Hotel, Sydney www.dementiaconference.com NSW Urological Nurses Society Professional Development Day 24 June 2016 Burwood RSL, 96 Shaftsbury Road, Burwood www.nswurologicalnurses.com ASPAAN Bega Seminar 25 June 2016 Bega Hospital, Bega www.aspaan.org.au “The Yin and Yang of Continence”, The Continence Foundation of Australia in NSW Inc. State Conference 2016 1 July 2016 Dockside, Darling Harbour, Sydney cfahpo.nsw@gmail.com Dimensions of Cardiology Conference 8-9 July 2016 Harbourview Function Centre, Newcastle www.empowernurseeducaiton.com. au Declared Delirium Clinical and Research Days, 3rd Biennial Conference Australasian Delirium Association 14-15 July 2016 University of New South Wales Sydney, Australia www.delirium.org.au Active Ageing Conference 2016 4 August 2016 Swissotel Sydney www.activeageingconference.com.au ASPAAN Coffs Harbour Seminar 6 August 2016 Coffs Harbour Hospital, Coffs Harbour www.aspaan.org.au ANZSVS Vascular Conference 2016 5-8 August 2016 Sheraton on the Park, Sydney http://www.vascularconference.com/ registration/ DANA 2016 NSW Drug and Alcohol Nurses Forum 12 August 2016 Park Royal Hotel, Darling Harbour www.danaonline.org The Children’s Hospital at Westmead Paediatric Perioperative Seminar 10 September 2016 Novotel Parramatta, Sydney claudia.watson@health.nsw.gov.au 4th Annual Anaesthetics & PARU Conference 16-17 September 2016 Harbourview Function Centre, Newcastle www.empowernurseeducation.com. au Australasia-Pacific Post-Polio Conference 46 | THE LAMP JUNE 2016
20-22 September 2016 Four Seasons Hotel, Sydney www.polioaustralia.org.au/ ASPAAN Wollongong Twilight Seminar 22 September 2016 Wollongong Hospital, Wollongong www.aspaan.org.au Audiometry Nurses Association of Australia INC Annual Conference and AGM 26-28 October 2016 Quality Noahs on the Beach, Newcastle http://anaa.asn.au 4th International Congress of PeriAnaesthesia Nurses [ICPAN] 1-4 November 2016 Luna Park, Sydney www.aspaan.org.au High Dependency Nursing Conference 4 November 2016 Westmead Hospital Katherine.Schaffarczyk@health.nsw. gov.au
INTERSTATE
NIMAC Conference & Trade Exhibition 1-3 June 2016 RACV Royal Pines Resort, Gold Coast www.nimac.com.au/conference Australian Health Promotion Association National Conference 19-22 June 2016 Rendezvous Hotel Scarborough, WA www.ahpa2016.com.au 17th International Mental Health Conference 10-12 August 2016 Sea World Resort, Gold Coast www.http://anzmh.asn.au/ conference 26th Annual Spinal Injury Conference 25-26 August 2016 Hampstead Rehabilitation Centre, Northfield, South Australia jhebblewhite@bigpond.com 11th National Conference Australian College of Nurse Practitioners 30 August-2 September 2016 Alice Springs www.dcconferences,com.au/ acnp2016 World Indigenous Women’s Conference 2016 14-16 September 2016 Stamford Beach Hotel Glenelg, Adelaide, South Australia www.indigenousconferences.com The National Nursing Forum 26-28 October 2016 Melbourne Park Function Centre www.acn.edu.au/nnf2016 Nursing Network on Violence Against Women International Conference 2016 26-28 October 2016 InterContinental The Rialto, Melbourne, VIC www.latrobe.edu.au/jlc/newsevents/NNVAWI-Conference-2016 Hospital In The Home (HITH) 9th Annual Scientific Meeting 2016 2-4 November 2016 Stamford Grand www.conference.hithsociety.org.au/ ASPAAN Twilight Seminar 17 December 2016 Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Perth www.aspaan.org.au
INTERNATIONAL
NCFI Quadrennial International Conference Healthy Lives in a Broken World – a Christian response to nursing 6-10 June 2016 Tagaytay City, Philippines www.ncfi.org 5th World Congress of Clinical Safety 21-23 September 2016 Joseph B. Martin Conference Center, Harvard University Medical School, Boston, USA www.iarmm.org/5WCCS/ BIT’S 3rd Annual World Congress of Orthopaedics 29 September-1 October 2016 Korea International Exhibition Center (KINTEX), Goyang-Si, South Korea www.bitcongress.com/wcort2016/ Heart Rhythm Congress 9-12 October 2016 International Convention Centre, Birmingham, United Kingdom www.heartrhythmcongress.org 5th International Conference on Violence in the Health Sector 26-28 October 2016 Dublin, Ireland www.oudconsultancy.nl/dublin_5_ ICWV/index.html
REUNIONS
Royal Prince Alfred Hospital June 1976-1979 40 Year Reunion 11 June 2016 Carroll Nada (Varda): carrollnada@gmail.com Marcia Sherring: marcia.sherring@bigpond.com St Vincent’s Hospital Darlinghurst PTS Class June 1975 41 Year Reunion 9 July 2016 Janelle Schwager: 0407 107 357 or Janelleschwager@gmail.com St Vincent’s Darlinghurst PTS Class March 1976-1979
40 year reunion 22 October 2016 Kerrie Maher: kerriefmaher@hotmail.com or 0408464903 Tamworth Base Hospital February 1976 intake 40-year reunion Contacts: Sandra Cox: sandra.cox@hnehealth. nsw Sean O’Connor: 0408 349 126 Gerard Jeffery: 0417 664 993 All Staff Reunion Kempsey Hospital 10 September 2016 South West Rocks Country Club Trudy Lynch: 0265627794 Brenda: 0265674532 Auburn Hospital October 1976-1979 40th Reunion Sharon Byers: 0419 144 965 or sbyers01@bigpond.net.au Margaret Borg (Mueller): 0431 159 964 or margaret_borg@bigpond. com Royal Prince Alfred Hospital January 1977 (including Rachel Foster Hospital) 40 Year Reunion 3 Day Comedy Cruise P&O Pacific Pearl Cruise Number: P207 Booking Reference: GNVQXN Departs Sydney – 27 January 2017 Contact Michele Kristidis (nee ‘Lee’ Sweeney): michelekristidis@ hotmail.com RAHC Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children PTS 1977 – 40 Year Reunion 4-5 February 2017 Coleen Holland (Argall): bobandcolh@yahoo.com.au St Vincents Darlinghurst PTS Class March 1977-40 year Reunion 25 March 2017 Frances O’Connor (nee Pugh): 0415764131 or fgoconnor@optusnet. com.au
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COVER STORY
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