lamp THE MAGAZINE OF THE NSW NURSES AND MIDWIVES’ ASSOCIATION
VOLUME 70 No.3 APRIL 2013
Print Post Approved: PP241437/00033
How does your fund compare?
When comparing funds, make sure you have all the facts before you decide. Not all super funds are the same – know your apples from your oranges. Our fund offers:
❯ ❯ ❯ ❯ ❯
Low fees Commission-free financial advice 12 investment options – including two SRI options Income stream options for income in retirement You’ll join one of Australia’s largest funds with over 770,000 members
Call 1300 650 873 Visit www.firststatesuper.com.au Email enquiries@firststatesuper.com.au
This advertisement contains general information only and is issued by FSS Trustee Corporation (ABN 11 118 202 672, AFSL 293340) as Trustee of the First State Superannuation Scheme (ABN 53 226 460 365). Any advice it contains does not take into account your specific objectives, financial situation or needs. Consider the Product Disclosure Statement available at www.firststatesuper.com.au or by calling 1300 650 873 before making a decision in relation to your membership. Financial planning services are provided by Health Super Financial Services Pty Ltd (HSFS) (ABN 37 096 452 318, AFSL 240019) trading as FSS Financial Planning (FSSFP) and Health Super Financial Planning (HSFP), which is wholly owned by the FSS Trustee Corporation. HSFS is responsible for the advice they provide. November 2012.
CONTENTS
lamp THE
CONTACTS NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association For all membership enquiries and assistance, including Lamp subscriptions and change of address, contact our Sydney office.
VOLUME 70 No.3 APRIL 2013
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 Hunter Office 8-14 Telford Street, Newcastle East NSW 2300
COVER STORY
12 | Boisterous launch to 2013 campaign More than 300 nurses and midwives gathered outside Parliament House in Sydney to send a clear message to politicians that our campaign to extend and improve ratios is under way.
NSWNMA Communications Manager Janaki Chellam-Rajendra T 8595 1258 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
PHOTOGRAPH: Sharon Hickey
Press Releases Send your press releases to: F 9662 1414 E gensec@nswnma.asn.au
REGULARS
5 6 8 33 36 39 41 43 48 50
Editorial Your letters News in brief Ask Judith Social media Nursing research online Crossword Books Movies of the month Diary dates
AGED CARE
COVER STORY
16 | Emergency nurses under pressure
Minimum nurse-treatment space ratios essential for safe functioning of EDs.
Editorial Committee • Brett Holmes, NSWNMA General Secretary • Judith Kiejda, NSWNMA Assistant General Secretary • Coral Levett, NSWNMA President • Roz Norman, Tamworth Base Hospital • Elsie May Henson, Barraba Multi Purpose Service • Peg Hibbert, Hornsby & Ku-Ring-Gai Hospital • Michelle Cashman, Long Jetty Continuing Care • Richard Noort, Justice Health Advertising Patricia Purcell T 8595 2139 or 0416 259 845 or F 9662 1414 E ppurcell@nswnma.asn.au Records and Information Centre – Library To find old articles in The Lamp, or to borrow from the NSWNMA nursing and health collection, contact: Jeannette Bromfield, RIC Coordinator T 8595 2175 E gensec@nswnma.asn.au
CLIMATE CHANGE
The Lamp ISSN: 0047-3936
20 | Gillard delivers for aged care workers
26 | Health at risk from extreme climate Complacency among Australia’s health professionals towards the impacts of climate change is putting lives at risk.
COMPETITION
SOCIAL MEDIA
9 | Win a set of stylish suitcases
30 | Mining twitter for better health Seven years after its launch, Twitter has 300 million users who post 200 million tweets a day, many on the subject of health.
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 2013 Free to all Association members. Professional members can subscribe to the magazine at a reduced rate of $50. Individuals $78, Institutions $130, Overseas $140. THE LAMP APRIL 2013 | 3
Recruit a new member and go in the draw for A Wonderful Holiday of a Lifetime Travel from Sydney to Perth in the classic Gold Service on the mighty Indian Pacific. The Indian Pacific is an epic journey that spans a continent. Over 3 days and 3 nights guests experience some of the most diverse scenery on earth – from the stunning Blue mountains with lush tree canopies and spectacular valley views, through the great Dividing Range, the salt lakes and sand dunes of South Australia and over the longest straight stretch of rail track in the world across the Nullarbor Plain.
Prize includes one way journey to Perth for two on the Indian Pacific, airfares for two from Perth to Sydney and five-night’s accommodation in a Novotel Perth Langley’s Superior King Room, including full buffet breakfast for two*.
Thomson Bay, Rottnest Island. Credit: Tourism Western Australia
Remember for every new member you recruit/have recruited from 30 June 2012 to 30 June 2013 means you will have your name submitted to the draw. RECRUITERS NOTE: Nurses and midwives can now join online! If you refer a new member to join online, make sure you ask them to put your name and workplace on the online application form. You will then be entitled to your vouchers and draw/s in the NSWNMA Recruitment Incentive Scheme.
EDITORIAL BY BRETT HOLMES GENERAL SECRETARY
We won’t tolerate a two-tier health system Nurses, like other working people, need money to pay their bills and take care of their families — yet members have chosen to prioritise more nurses over more pay for our 2013 public health system campaign.
I am proud of the position taken by nurses and midwives in this campaign.
The reason most of us took on nursing or midwifery as our profession was because we put patient safety and the care of our patients above all else. It’s what we signed up for. How well we care for the patients on our wards and in the community is how we judge ourselves. I know you can’t do it properly when there are not enough nurses or midwives for the patients in your care. Many nurses run all shift from one person to another to another, to care for those waiting for pain relief, or to change position, or for a bedpan, or for more complex care. These are people in distress, who don’t understand why you’ve taken so long to get to them. Similarly, your community patients are often left to wait for care in their own homes, or in crowded community health centres, simply because there is not enough time. It’s intolerable. It’s intolerable for them and intolerable for us. And we won’t tolerate it anymore. Patients are waiting too long because the government has been told it is okay to have a regime where some wards in some hospitals have improved nurse-to-patient ratios while the rest do not. We won improvements in 2011 and now it is time for the O’Farrell Government to extend those improvements right across New South Wales. A twotier system where nurses are supported and staffed to provide first rate care in some hospitals, mainly in the cities, while their colleagues in others, mainly rural areas, are not, is unacceptable. Nurses in country hospitals cannot physically provide the same level of care to patients with the same illness as their city colleagues. It makes country nurses despair. And it makes them want to leave. Because they can’t bear being unable to provide care to a standard Australians are entitled to expect. Thankfully most haven’t left, yet, but we need to give them the support that better ratios can provide. I am proud of the position taken by nurses and midwives in this campaign. When the government threw its paltry 2.5% offer on the table, other public sector workers told them what to do with it and went to the High Court to contest it. It’s easy to understand why.
NSW nurses and midwives have taken another route. And that is, to send the state government a message that we simply must have enough nurses and midwives to give all patients, in all wards, in all hospitals, the same world class care they now get in just some hospitals. Barry O’Farrell – give us that. Give us enough nurses to do our jobs in hospitals and in the community and fulfill our vocation of caring for our sick and injured fellow citizens. Give us that and give it to us in writing so that it is guaranteed. AGED CARE COMPACT A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO IMPROVE WAGES It has taken four years of sustained effort in the Because We Care campaign but aged care nurses are now poised to reap the rewards of their perseverance, commitment and hard work (see page 20). The aged care compact has concluded and $1.2 billion is now available to flow into the wages of aged care nurses and aged care workers. This is an incredible achievement and the Gillard Government should be acknowledged for its role. It takes political courage for a federal government to tie funding for a sector to the participation of employers in enterprise agreements. Implicit in this approach is the recognition of the role of unions in improving the working lives of their members. However, it does highlight one qualifier to this big win. These pay increases will not be automatic. They require an enterprise agreement at each workplace above 50 beds and an organised union presence. But if aged care nurses do get organised, the money is there to boost their pay. Employers will be unable to avoid their responsibility to pass on the increased funding in wage improvements. That is what the government funding is clearly targeted at. THE LAMP APRIL 2013 | 5
YOUR LETTERS
LETTER OF THE MONTH
Aged care workers rejoice For Lee Thomas, ANF Federal Secretary, and Brett Holmes, NSWNMA General Secretary, March 5, 2013, was a special day indeed. The Honorable Mark Butler, Federal Minister for Ageing, announced $1.2 billion funding to aged care nursing and care staff. On behalf of every aged care worker and the elderly, we thank you and the Association for your tireless efforts in reaching this victory. It has been a long arduous battle to get to this point, through the Aged Care Can’t Wait campaign, preparations for the Productivity Commission Report, engagement with the community from the country to the city, the rallies and the meetings with politicians. Thank you for also ensuring that this wage increase goes in to the pocket of every aged care worker by making sure it is in the legally enforceable EBA. To my aged care colleagues, let us celebrate! Your voices have finally been heard in the hallways of parliament! Jocelyn Hofman
letter of the
month The letter judged the best each month will be awarded a $50 Coles Myer voucher. “Whatever your next purchase, remember Union Shopper. After all, who can think of a reason NOT to save.” u n i o n s h o p p e r. c o m . a u • 1 3 0 0 3 6 8 1 1 7
Every letter published receives a $20 Coles Group & Myer gift card.
ADVERTISE IN
THE LAMP TO REACH OVER
58,800 NURSES &
*
MIDWIVES
Contact Patricia Purcell on 02 8595 2139 or 0416 259 845 or email ppurcell@nswnurses.asn.au for more information. *Circulation Audit Board actual figures 58,846. 30/09/2012
6 | THE LAMP APRIL 2013
No pride in new uniform I have just received my new uniforms. Feeling proud is far from what I feel. They forgot to supply us with fluoro jackets or safety hats and or a toolbox! I did not know that our job role had changed as well. These uniforms are terrible. One plain solid colour – navy. No break in the uniform colour anywhere. I can’t wait to knock on someone’s door in this uniform (I am a community nurse) – I am not sure which tradie they will think is calling! Awful, no reason to feel pride when getting ready for work. And why didn’t we get shorts or three-quarter pants or polo tops like other allied health workers? I guess our health and wellbeing isn’t important. Certainly comfort and feeling cool on those lovely hot days in those lovely hot houses was not on the list when choosing them. I can sacrifice pride in uniform for comfort or efficiency, but really, why should we have to sacrifice everything? Leanne Mangan, Mudgee District Hospital
Employ our grads In our regional maternity unit we recently had a woman who had a severe post-partum haemmorhage. The four midwives on duty went into autopilot, doing what we had to do. It was, as always scary but we know what to do and thankfully it went well and Mum was soon tucked up in bed with her new baby on her breast. During the cleanup we reflected on the fact that we had over 100 years nursing and midwifery experience between us – but not one degree. It highlighted the value of experience and made me think about the need to employ our new graduate nurses so that they can gain hands-on experience and learn from nurses and midwives who have the experience and expertise to pass on. They are our future and we can’t afford to lose them. I have heard it said by both ward staff and management that it is not safe to have new grads on the wards who haven’t completed a new graduate program. What does this say about the way we train nurses today? If there aren’t enough new graduate positions for all newly registered nurses, we need to employ them and teach them on the wards so that they can gain the experience to achieve their potential and become valuable members of our workforce. I am not against training nurses and midwives in universities, however perhaps more hands-on experience needs to be included in their training. We need to give them a good basic training so that we can employ them in hospitals where they can gain valuable experience working with experienced nurses and midwives, before our backs give out and we retire. Let’s embrace and nurture our new grads instead of putting them on the scrapheap before they have begun. This is written by an old, tired midwife and nurse with sore feet, an aching back and weak bladder who is proud of my profession and wants the best for its future. Annette Alldrick Shoalhaven Hospital
YOUR LETTERS
We need ratios now With reference to the effects of nursing ratios, the feedback that I have received from colleagues who are currently part of this process is that with ratios in place the staff are much happier, they have more time to care and treat their patients as they deserve to be treated. The staff are less burntout.They do not feel that their time is spent each day chasing their tails just to manage the bare minimum of care and trying not to miss things that could cause harm to patients. Contrary to this, in areas like my own of paediatrics, where no ratios are in force, the scenario is quite different! We spend our days running around frantically doing only the barest of what the patients need. Our patients often thrive on neglect, not because of any personal failing of the staff involved but because of the sheer volume and nature of the work we have to take on. This is compounded by government targets to get patients through the emergency department in less than four hours. Patients often arrive on the wards not stabilised properly, with the proviso “it can be done on the ward later” – putting additional work onto an already grossly overworked and under-resourced area. Nursing staff often do not have the time to observe a patient’s condition adequately. They try to cope by cutting corners and this often leads to not monitoring patients effectively. This is all very bad news for the patient, who may suffer physically and mentally, and also for the nursing staff, who end up feeling physically exhausted and emotionally drained at the end of their shift, not to mention the medico-legal minefield that practitioners are walking. Nurses are leaving the profession in large numbers already and many more (including me) wish to do so as soon as possible. Countless research projects from around the world have identified that the number of registered nurses caring for patients directly effects patient outcomes and the rates of readmission. Why are the speciality areas, where patients often require more care, not less, being ignored by government? We need ratios in these areas and we need them now. Maureen Swarze,Tweed Hospital.
NO TIME
FOR CPD CPD? ? CPD online saves you time
NSWNMA responds Following a record ballot of branch endorsement, the 2013 ratios claim has been served on the Ministry of Health with our request to start negotiations immediately. The claim calls for paediatric ward minimum ratios of 1:3 plus an in-charge on all shifts.
SAYSOMETHING
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.
Trial Topic... p: 1300 730 121 or (02) 6658 66658 8222 HEALnet.edu.au HEALnet.edu.au has R RCNA CNA A Authorised uthorised Provider Provider of Endorsed C Courses ourses ((APEC) APEC) status, status, subsequen subsequently tly our educa educational tional ac activities tivities attract attract R RCNA CNA CNE poin points. ts.
HEALnet.edu.au HEALnet .edu.au is a pr product oduct of Nor North th C Coast oast TAFE TA AFE
NEWS IN BRIEF
Australia
Fast food for kids full of salt and sugar Children’s fast food meals vastly exceed the amount of energy, salt, sugar and saturated fat children should eat in one meal, according to a report from the Cancer Council NSW. The report Fast Food: Exposing the Truth showed an urgent need to reduce the amount of energy and unhealthy ingredients in fast food meals, the council said. Researchers analysed 199 different children’s meal combinations from six major fast food outlets, finding they could contain more than an entire day’s salt and saturated fat in the one meal. The Cancer Council’s nutrition and program manager, Clare Hughes, told the Sydney Morning Herald that researchers had recorded more than 1400 meal purchases at 20 fast food outlets, finding that people chose the healthy options on menus less than 1% of the time. “If kids are having a fast food meal they are getting a fair whack of what they should be having in one day, in one meal,” she said. The Cancer Council found 90% of children’s meals exceeded the recommended salt levels for four- and eight-year-old children. About 70% exceeded energy and sugar requirements for four-yearolds, and about 50% exceeded energy and sugar requirements for eight-year-olds. “One of our recommendations is that targets be set for reform of all fast food products,” said Clare Hughes.
Greece
Profit trumps health in cash-strapped economy Greece is facing a serious shortage of medicines amid claims that pharmaceutical multinationals have halted shipments to the country, due to concerns that the drugs will be exported by middlemen to other European countries where prices are higher, according to the Guardian newspaper. Hundreds of drugs are in short supply and the situation is getting worse, according to the Greek drug regulator. The government has drawn up a list of more than 50 pharmaceutical companies it accuses of halting or planning to halt supplies because of low prices in the country. More than 200 medicinal products are affected, including treatments for arthritis, hepatitis C and hypertension, cholesterollowering agents, antipsychotics, antibiotics, anaesthetics and immunomodulators used to treat bowel disease. The Swiss Red Cross has also cut its supply of donor blood to Greece, because it did not pay its bills. “Companies are ceasing these supplies because Greece is not profitable for them and they are worried that their products will be exported by traders to other, richer countries, through parallel trade, as Greece has the lowest medicine prices in Europe,” said Professor Yannis Tountas, president of the Greek drug regulator, the National Organisation for Medicines. The Panhellenic Pharmaceutical Association, representing pharmacists, said supplies were down by 90%. “Everyone is frightened. Customers tell me they are afraid about losing access to medication altogether,” said Dimitris Karageorgiou, its secretary general. “It’s a disgrace. The government is panic-stricken and the multinationals only think about themselves.” 8 | THE LAMP APRIL 2013
THE SWISS RED CROSS HAS CUT ITS SUPPLY OF DONOR BLOOD TO GREECE, BECAUSE IT DID NOT PAY ITS BILLS.
NEWS IN BRIEF
COMPETITION
Australia
HESTA lowers fees HESTA, the industry fund for health and community services, has won approval from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) to launch a MySuper option from 1 July 2013. Core Pool – HESTA’s default option – is among the first super options in the country to receive MySuper endorsement. As part of the government’s Stronger Super reforms, MySuper options must be simple and offer investors a single, diversified investment strategy for a low fee. “As Core Pool – with its long-term top quartile returns – already meets these criteria, we did not need to develop a new product,” HESTA CEO Anne-Marie Corboy said. “We’re also pleased to announce, following our MySuper endorsement, that another year of strong growth has enabled us to provide a fee reduction for our Core Pool/MySuper members.” From 1 July 2013, members invested in Core Pool will benefit from a 0.02% reduction in the asset-based fee. This fee will be reduced by a further 0.02% with the planned abolition of member benefit protection from 1 July. “This is just another example of how HESTA – as a profitfor-members industry fund – keeps costs down for members,” Anne-Marie Corboy said.
Win a set of
stylish suitcases
Visit www.americantourister.com.au for more details.
Germany
72 is the new 30 Human life expectancy has improved so rapidly over the past century that 72 is the new 30, according to scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Demographic research in Rostock Germany. Their studies show that since 1900, life expectancy has risen faster than it did in the previous 200 millennia since modern man began to evolve from hominid species. The study looked at Swedish and Japanese men – two groups with the longest life expectancies today. It concluded that their counterparts in 1800 would have had lifespans that were closer to those of the earliest hunter-gatherer humans than they would to adult men in both countries today. Those primitive hunter gatherers, at age 30, had the same odds of dying as a modern Swedish or Japanese man would face at 72. Scientists who worked on the study said it was unclear what the possible upper limit for life expectancy would be. “How much longer can we extend life?” Oskar Burger, lead researcher on the study told the Financial Times. “We just don’t know.” The very rapid improvement in lifespans coincides with the invention of antibiotics and vaccines, huge improvements in agricultural efficiency that have made food far more available and the widespread development of systems that have made clean water more readily accessible.
American Tourister MV+ Competition 50 O’Dea Avenue, Waterloo, NSW 2017
NEWS IN BRIEF
“We will rearrange state budgets by cutting them back in other areas.We are not going to allow state governments to play politics with health.’’
Australia
Australia
Don’t play politics with health: PM
Job cuts will lead to “better system”: MP
Prime Minister Julia Gillard has told state and territory leaders she is prepared to ‘’rearrange’’ their budgets for them by making payments directly to hospitals and deducting the money from other grants if they ‘’play politics’’ with health, according to the Age newspaper. The Prime Minister said she would bypass other state governments that displayed the same conduct as Victoria, which has campaigned publicly against the cuts announced by the Commonwealth late last year, on the basis of a downward revision of population estimates. Julia Gillard blamed the closure of about 350 beds and the cancellation of thousands of operations in the state on “a grand act of incompetence’’ by former Victorian Premier Ted Baillieu. She said the Commonwealth would pay hospitals directly what they had lost and recover the money from other Commonwealth funding set aside for the state. “If we see any other premier playing this kind of politics . . . there is a very clear message: we will go around you, we will deal direct with hospitals and local hospital networks, and we will rearrange your budget for you. “We will rearrange state budgets by cutting them back in other areas. We are not going to allow state governments to play politics with health.’’
The Queensland Liberal National Party government has earmarked 234 jobs to be cut in the Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service – and the local LNP MP Gavin King says the job cuts will lead to a “better system” according to the Cairns Post. Local clinicians beg to differ. Senior Medical Staff Association president Dr Peter Boyd told the Post the 165 full-time positions to be axed, including nurses, administration and allied health professionals, would inevitably impact on patients. “It will affect patient care and it’s ridiculous to think it won’t,” he said. Dr Boyd said medical positions and administration roles were already underresourced in the region. “I think they are expecting people to just pick up (the extra workload). There are very real concerns that clinicians will have to do administration work,” he said.
Graduate Certificates Commence in July 2013 – accepting enrolments now Including acute care, aged care, cancer, child and family health, critical care, leadership and management, neonatal, paediatric, perioperative and more. Call us and book your place now.
www.acn.edu.au 1800 COLLEGE (26 55 343) ssc@nursing.edu.au
This course is accredited by TEQSA and is undergoing Renewal of Accreditation and may be subject to change with short notice.
10 | THE LAMP APRIL 2013
Australian College of Nursing
NEWS IN BRIEF
Australia
Sleep disorders kill sex A new survey looking at the impact of sleep disorders found that 20% of the couples surveyed spent three to seven nights sleeping in separate bedrooms.
EDUCATION@NSWNMA
WHAT’S ON APRIL 2013 ——— • ———
Computer Essentials for Nurses and Midwives – 1 day 3 April, Prince of Wales Hospital, Randwick 1 May, Prince of Wales Hospital, Randwick Seminar is suitable for all nurses and midwives.
Members $85 Non-members $170 ——— • ———
The survey was conducted by the Melbourne Sleep Disorders Centre. Of the 2923 respondents, 81% said their sleep problems had either a moderate to considerable negative effect on their relationship with their bed partner. Dr David Cunnington, Sleep Physician at the centre, said that bed partners played an important role in identifying a sleep disorder. Of the respondents, 45.9% stated that it was their bed partner who identified they had a sleep problem, prompting them to seek help or treatment. “When you have a sleep disorder you wake feeling tired and throughout the day you can be irritable and moody because you are exhausted. If both partners aren’t getting enough sleep then it can put a lot of pressure on a relationship. “It is very hard to share a bed with someone who snores. Bed partners either can’t sleep because of the loud snoring or they lay awake worrying that their partner is not breathing properly.” The survey was conducted by CPAP Australia, an Australian company that distributes medical products and devices to manage sleep disorders.
World
Household products pose health dangers More than 800 chemicals found in everyday products — household cleaners, makeup, electronics, canned food, and clothing — are becoming “a global threat that needs to be resolved,” according to a new report from the World Health Organisation and United Nations Environment Program. Research has linked these hormone-disrupting chemicals to a host of medical problems, including certain cancers, birth defects, and other diseases. The chemicals include phthalates and BPA, which are both used in plastics. The US, Canada, and parts of Europe have banned them in some products for children, but Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs) are still to be found in hundreds of thousands of products around the world. “The vast majority of chemicals” in common use have not been tested for safety, according to the WHO report.
Legal and Professional Issues for Nurses and Midwives – ½ day 19 April, Lismore, 29 April, Gymea 9 May, Broken Hill Topics covered include the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law, potential liability, the importance of documentation, the role of disciplinary tribunals and writing statements.
Members $40 Non-members $85 ——— • ———
Policy and Guideline Writing 19 April, NSWNMA, Waterloo Seminar is suitable for all nurses and midwives.
Members $85 Non-members $170 ——— • ———
Are you meeting your CPD requirements – ½ day 5 April, Penrith, 18 April, Lismore 30 May, Wagga Wagga Seminar is suitable for all nurses and midwives to learn about CPD requirements and the process involved in meeting them.
Members $40 Non-members $85 ——— • ———
Aged Care Seminar Series – 1 day 10 April, Katoomba Seminar is suitable for all RN, EN, AiNs.
Members $75 Non-members $170 ——— • ———
Practical, Positive Leadership – 3 days 10 April, 8 May, 5 June, Waterloo 23 April, 21 May, 25 June, Penrith A three-day workshop designed to meet the leadership needs of nurses and midwives.
Members $250 Non-members $400 ——— • ——— To register or for more information go to www.nswnma.asn.au/education or phone Carolyn Kulling on 1300 367 962
THE LAMP APRIL 2013 | 11
COVER STORY
Boisterous launch to 2013 campaign
12 | THE LAMP APRIL 2013
More than 300 nurses and midwives gathered outside Parliament House in Sydney to send a clear message to politicians that our campaign to extend and improve ratios is under way.
THE LAMP APRIL 2013 | 13
COVER STORY
THE OFFICIAL LAUNCH OF THE 2013 PUBLIC Health System campaign took place outside parliament on March 19, after a record vote by NSWNMA branches to endorse the claim, and with the claim in the hands of the state government. Delegates from branches throughout the state symbolically mailed messages to Barry O’Farrell urging him to improve and extend ratios in our public health system and to agree to a well-deserved pay rise. NSWNMA General Secretary Brett Holmes told the gathered crowd that the almost unanimous vote in favour of the claim underlined the massive support among nurses and midwives working in NSW for improvements to the ratios that are working well in our public health system. “We’re here to make a big noise and those who aren’t here are with us in spirit in their tens of thousands,” he said. “This overwhelming support fires our determination, because it proves New South Wales nurses and midwives demand one thing 14 | THE LAMP APRIL 2013
above all else – safe patient care. We know that nurse-to-patient ratios delivered by mandated minimum nursing hours, maximum face-to-face hours for community nurses and BirthRate Plus enshrined in our legally enforceable award is the only way to deliver safe patient care.” Brett was joined on the speakers’ rostrum by two nurses, Katrina Lee and Emily Orchard, who are the faces of the campaign in the Association’s TV ads. A message was also read out from the third nurse in the ads, Mimi Chu who, ironically, could not attend due to a heavy workload. THE CASE FOR IMPROVED RATIOS Katrina Lee, with long experience of work in state rural hospitals, set out the compelling case for improving ratios in country hospitals. “In a 20-bed ward of a rural hospital there are 20 hours less for nursing care than in a city hospital. It’s just not fair. It’s just not safe,” she said.
“When a colleague is sick and not replaced we all pitch in to get the tasks done. Most importantly, when there aren’t enough nurses we cannot always give the care we want to give. “No longer should rural Australia settle for less. It’s time to get the right number of nurses in the right place. “Every patient deserves the very best care that we can give no matter who you are, no matter where you live.” Mimi Chu, a community nurse, sent a message for Barry O’Farrell. “Today’s babies are tomorrow’s future, they are our most important people and they deserve VIP treatment. Quality community health services save governments money because we keep people out of hospital. It’s so important that community nurses have enough time to spend with our patients to ensure they get the best care possible and that’s why ratios are important – to ensure that we can provide the best face-to-face time with our patients.”
Messages for Premier O’Farrell Matthew Cartan, RN Tamworth Hospital “The midnight census doesn’t work for us. Last weekend we had 20 patients with two nurses away on annual leave – we then had five admissions, so we ended up with four nurses looking after 25 patients. “I work in a medical ward and one of our biggest concerns is ‘specialling’ which is included in the numbers. It takes one staff off the floor and everyone else has to pick up the load. “I want Barry O’Farrell to know that to retain nurses in NSW he has to make work conditions in hospitals better. There are a lot of unhappy nurses.” Kristine Blain, Midwife, Wollongong Hospital. “We’re concerned about the shortage of staff and for patient safety. Sometimes we have an influx of extra patients and we can’t cope with them. “We are the only hospital in this area that won’t employ agency nurses so staff are constantly being called back in because of shortages. “Our message for Barry O’Farrell is please don’t get rid of ratios. We need to improve them because they are still not enough. The wards where the ratios have been implemented have improved and are working better. But in areas like EDs and paediatrics we need more staff.” Albie Zentveld, Mental Health Liaison nurse, Queanbeyan Hospital “The second biggest number of presentations at Queanbeyan Hospital ED are mental health. They sometimes have to wait 5-6 hours for an assessment if I’m not there. “I was at today’s rally because I want better staffing especially in EDs and community nursing. I want better resources for community nursing to reduce hospital presentations and to keep people out of EDs. “I’m enthusiastic about this campaign. If we get a better win we’ll be able to provide better care for our patients. It’s going to be difficult but we need to get Barry O’Farrell to look at the bigger picture.” THE LAMP APRIL 2013 | 15
COVER STORY
Emergency nurses under pressure Minimum nurse-treatment space ratios essential for safe functioning of EDs.
ACHIEVING A 1:3 STAFF-TO-TREATMENT SPACE ratio is the biggest issue facing emergency department nurses in the Hunter district, says Jillian Thurlow NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association delegate at Maitland Hospital. A council member of both the NSWNMA and Australian Nursing Federation (NSW Branch), Jillian has worked in the emergency departments of two Hunter region hospitals in the past four years. Latest figures from the Bureau of Health Information show Maitland Hospital now has the Hunter’s longest waiting times in emergency in all triage categories. The hospital’s general manager said there had been a 32% increase in ED patients in 2012 compared with 2011, according to media reports. Jillian says this is no surprise given that Maitland is one of Australia’s fastest growing inland cities. “In some emergency departments you could be looking after as many as six patients with the added pressure of a waiting room full of people,” she told The Lamp. “At Maitland Hospital ED the ratio is usually 1:4, which is a lot better than some places but still a challenge. “A 1:4 ratio gives us only one nurse for two resuscitation beds. If one of those patients needs to be transferred to John Hunter Hospital a nurse usually goes with them. Those left in the department have to do that nurse’s work while looking after their own patients and attending to new patients coming in.” Jillian says securing a 1:3 ratio for emergency departments is key to the Association’s campaign for a new public health system award, because it will guarantee safer patient care. “Getting a 1:3 ratio would also give us a 1:1 ratio for resuscitation beds, meaning we 16 | THE LAMP APRIL 2013
would no longer have to prioritise who is sicker and who will get care first.” She said Maitland Hospital did not have enough staff to assign a triage nurse or clinical initiative nurse to the ED waiting room at night. “There is only an administration officer present with people in the waiting room from 11pm to 7am. The administration officer calls the nurses within the main department when a new patient arrives or asks for pain relief and either the nurse in charge, or a nurse with a patient load, attends the waiting room. “A patient’s condition can deteriorate in that situation with a greater risk of infection and even sepsis mortality. “I was looking after a new patient the other day when I was asked to go out the front to start triaging and seeing to another patient. It was a real struggle to decide which patient would get my attention. “We are really worried that something’s going to happen to our patients in these circumstances – whether it is a new patient who can’t be assessed or treatment-commenced in a timely fashion or whether it’s our own patient we have left back in the department. “Often it’s the nurse in charge who goes out front and during that time they have to juggle running the department, triaging and initiating treatment for the new patient, all at the same time.” Jillian said a 1: 3 ratio in ED would allow nurses to triage and commence treatment in the waiting room as soon as patients arrive during the night – without being at the expense of patients already in the department. She described waiting times at Maitland Emergency as “challenging” due partly to nearby rural hospitals that frequently refer acutely unwell patients, as well as the limited
“We are really worried that something’s going to happen to our patients in these circumstances.”
Jillian Thurlow at the Sydney rally on March 19.
number of other health providers and medical clinics in the area. Jillian was one of several Maitland nurses who attended the NSWNMA’s recent rally in Sydney to push for a new public health system agreement. “It’s a real honour to be part of a collective group of nurses advocating for their patients,” she said.“We just want to provide every patient with the same high standard of care we would provide for our own loved ones. “With the 1:3 ratio nurses would recognise deteriorating patients earlier in their emergency presentation, when adverse outcomes can be reversed or even prevented. “Studies show this reduces the length of stay for hospitalised patients as they receive optimal and timely treatment, such as the golden hour for antibiotics with patients suffering from sepsis. “This reduces the chance of requiring aggressive fluid resuscitation, vasopressors and admission to intensive care. “Decreased treatment costs and shorter hospital stays (and type of stay), save money by freeing up inpatient beds, which in turn reduces the pressures on over-burdened emergency departments. “I don’t understand why the Ministry of Health has failed to support minimum ratios in EDs.They would deliver additional cost savings in the form of reduced staff turnover and burnout, reduced sick leave and overtime and lower recruitment costs, for example.”
Hunter worst region for offstretcher time 1:3 STAFF:PATIENT RATIO NEEDED TO CUT ED WAIT PERIODS. Emergency patients are more likely to be left on an ambulance stretcher for more than 30 minutes at the Hunter region’s three biggest hospitals – John Hunter, Maitland and the Calvary Mater – than elsewhere in the state. Only 44% of those patients made it off a stretcher within the target time of 30 minutes in the last quarter of 2012, compared to the state average of 64%, according to the Bureau of Health Information’s Hospital Quarterly report. Maitland Hospital’s result of 43% tied with Hawkesbury District Health Service as the worst in the state. The National Emergency Access Target for NSW requires 90% of patients arriving at hospital by ambulance to be transferred into the care of ED staff within 30 minutes. The latest figures highlight the pressing need to establish a 1:3 minimum staffing ratio for emergency departments, said the NSWNMA’s delegate at Maitland Hospital, Jillian Thurlow. “If someone comes in on an ambulance stretcher with chest pain and we have no bed available, ambulance officers are required to stay with that patient in the ambulance bay until a bed is available,” she said. “When there are a number of ambulance crews waiting to offload patients they call in an ambulance release team, usually on overtime rates, to look after patients waiting for a hospital bed. “A 1:3 ratio would allow ambulances to offload quicker so they can get back out on the road to attend to emergency calls. “It would mean faster treatment for patients arriving by ambulance, faster response to calls for an ambulance and lower operating costs for the ambulance service.”
THE LAMP APRIL 2013 | 17
EMERGENCY DEPARTMENTS
Staff praised over knife drama
PHOTO; CHRIS SEABROOK
Association negotiates security improvements after alleged assault in emergency department.
Natalie Cole outside Emergency entrance, Bathurst Base Hospital.
“I think they handled it well; they did all the right things.They protected us.” — Natalie Cole
18 | THE LAMP APRIL 2013
THE NSW NURSES AND MIDWIVES’ Association is working to improve security at Bathurst Base Hospital after a man armed with a knife and hammer allegedly detained and threatened a nurse and receptionist. The female staff members escaped injury in the alleged attack in the emergency department on a Saturday night. Health service management and patients praised hospital staff and police for their responses to the incident. The Association is now working with management to examine and improve security arrangements.The security review is being carried out by a joint union/management working party that includes ED nurses, NSWNMA organiser Holly Rebeiro and the Association’s professional officer for work health and safety,Trish Butrej. Trish said a man who had sought treatment for an eye injury allegedly pulled out a knife in the triage room, ordering a nurse, and a receptionist visible in an adjacent room through an open door, to put their hands up and not touch anything. “The two staff members were unable to activate duress alarms located on the wall of the triage room and under the receptionist’s desk as well as the personal alarm carried by the nurse,” she said. When a security guard tried to intervene the man started smashing a window with a hammer, police alleged. Police arrived within minutes and subdued the man with a taser. A 40-year-old man has been charged with two counts of detaining a person with intent to obtain advantage, being armed with intent to commit an indictable offence, common assault and destroying or damaging property. A mother whose daughter was being examined by a doctor on the other side of the triage door told the Western Advocate newspaper she heard a man swearing and shouting and glass smashing. Natalie Cole said the doctor and nurses did not panic and escorted the pair to safety. “One nurse said, ‘you’ve got to get out now’. Then a group of hospital staff made a
circle around us to keep us safe and we moved down the corridor. “I think they handled it well; they did all the right things. They protected us,” Mrs Cole said. Bathurst Health Service general manager David Wright thanked police for their “excellent response” and commended hospital staff for their actions. “It’s evidence of their training that they’ve handled an extreme situation extremely well,” he told the Western Advocate. Trish Butrej said the joint working party inspected the ED and spoke to a wide range of staff, including nurses, receptionists and security officers, before putting together an action plan. “Some of the issues we identified wouldn’t necessarily have impacted on this particular incident but we agreed on measures to improve ED security generally,” she said. Recommendations include installing more locators for duress alarms – especially in high-risk areas such as the triage room. “There was only one locator for the whole ED so if the alarm went off, security didn’t know exactly where the trouble was and could waste valuable time looking for the exact location,” Trish said. “The hospital needs to comply with Ministry of Health specifications that the alarm system be able to pinpoint the location of an alarm to within five metres. “The hospital has already relocated a couple of the fixed duress buttons and added new ones. “We also recommended that the door between reception and triage be kept closed so that if someone does run amok in the triage area, reception – which has a view into the triage room – will have more time to hit the duress alarm before anyone breaks through the door. “We also recommended that the window between the triage room and the waiting room be replaced with safety glass and more CCTV monitors be installed.”
PRIVATE HOSPITALS
Redundancies reversed at Forster Private Nurses’ united stand leads to settlement with Pulse Health FORSTER PRIVATE HOSPITAL HAS REVERSED a move to make six nurses redundant after remaining nurses refused to work extra shifts and overtime and called for their reinstatement. Pulse Health, which operates the Mid North Coast hospital, announced in February it would make six nurses redundant and cut the hours of a seventh. This came soon after Forster Private nurses won a difficult but successful campaign to lift their salaries closer to rates paid at nearby hospitals. A unanimous resolution from the NSWNMA branch at the hospital described Pulse’s decision to make nursing positions redundant as “a direct outcome of the successful bargaining of a new enterprise agreement.This treatment of the nursing staff, which targets the direct and ongoing care of our patients and the community as a whole, has left the branch bewildered and devastated.” Branch members voted unanimously to work only their contracted hours, and the Association took the dispute to Fair Work Australia. Within a fortnight of announcing the redundancies Pulse came to an agreement with the Association to reduce the number of redundancies to three – and two of these nurses were immediately brought back as casuals on the same hours. “All but one of the six nurses originally targeted for redundancy are back at work in the hospital,” said Paul Sandilands, a registered nurse/midwife and secretary of the local branch. Association General Secretary Brett Holmes praised the Forster Private Hospital branch for their “outstanding solidarity and commitment to their colleagues.” Pulse Health operates five hospitals in New South Wales and Queensland. Forster Private employs about 90 nurses to care for more than 80 patients. It performs major surgery and includes a high dependency unit and a rehabilitation unit.
“All but one of the six nurses originally targeted for redundancy are back at work in the hospital.”
Pulse’s refusal to offer Forster Private nurses a fair pay increase forced them to mount a campaign of industrial and community action, which achieved wage rates closer to – but still below – those paid at comparable public and private hospitals in the district. However, in the fortnight that the first pay increase landed in nurses’ bank accounts the company announced redundancies due to “an excess of contracted nursing hours.” Paul Sandilands said the claim that the hospital was overstaffed amazed the nurses, who normally worked up to 200 extra hours each month to fill vacancies and other gaps in the roster. The first sign that Pulse had blundered came within a day of the redundancy announcement, when the company
withdrew the redundancy notice against the ward NUM. It had wanted to abolish the position of ward NUM and pass those responsibilities to the DON. Paul said the first roster produced for the period following the redundancies – March 6 to March 19 – showed the company had badly miscalculated. “All three nurse unit managers (NUM) and even the director of nursing (DON) were rostered to work on the floors for more than 300 hours in total, and there were still vacant shifts in the roster,” Paul said. “Under that arrangement the hospital could not have functioned without all the managers working as registered nurses on the floors. “The company was counting on nurses to pick up extra shifts to cover the shortfalls. “However our branch members were unanimous in refusing to do the jobs of their fellow nurses who had been made redundant.” A Fair Work Australia Commissioner convened a Saturday hearing to try to resolve the dispute but no agreement was reached. The following day Pulse requested a meeting with the Association where agreement was finally reached. Under the agreement the roles of the two nurses made redundant, then reemployed as casuals, are to be reviewed after six months to determine whether they can return to permanent employment. Meanwhile, the hospital’s Medical Advisory Board (MAB) has predicted a “shift in management attitudes” following a meeting with Pulse Health chairman Stuart James. MAB chairman Dr Geoff Whitehouse sought the meeting with Mr James to voice the board’s concerns on a number of issues, chiefly the forced redundancies, reported the local newspaper the Great Lakes Advocate. “I think we will see a shift in attitudes at the hospital to a more community-oriented approach that is in the best interests of patients and the community,” Dr Whitehouse was quoted as saying. THE LAMP APRIL 2013 | 19
AGED CARE
Gillard delivers for aged care workers Federal government funding through the Aged Care Compact is a vital first step to improving the wages and careers of aged care nurses. 20 | THE LAMP APRIL 2013
AFTER A LONG PERIOD OF CONSULTATION between the federal government, employers and unions, the Aged Care Compact has been concluded and $1.2 billion will begin to flow into workers’ wages. By 2016, when the compact finalises, aged care workers and nursing staff should have received a boost to wages of about $46 a week or $2390 a year for a Registered Nurse, $35 per week or $1820 a year for an Enrolled Nurse and $29 a week or $1510 for an Assistant in Nursing. Wage increases will begin from 1 July this year, however the funding will only be given to those aged care providers that sign up to enterprise bargaining agreements. NSWNMA General Secretary Brett Holmes says the Gillard Government should
“The key to keeping employers honest will be strong member organisation and an enterprise agreement at each workplace.”
be commended for putting in place a process that ensures the increased funding goes towards improving wages in the sector. “In the past employers have not passed on increased government funding to the sector into increased wages as they should have done. “This is the first time the funding will be linked to wage increases delivered through enterprise bargaining. It guarantees that the increased government funding will go straight into aged care workers’ pockets.” Brett Holmes says the Aged Care Compact is the culmination of years of hard campaigning by aged care nurses. “The NSWNMA and the ANF initiated the Because We Care campaign four years ago and one of our key goals was to increase >> continued overleaf THE LAMP APRIL 2013 | 21
AGED CARE
>> continued from page 21
wages in the sector, so we could attract and keep the workers that provide quality care for every resident. “All aged care nurses who participated in the campaign, and everyone who supported them, should feel proud of this outcome. “The compact is not a silver bullet for the sector’s problems. It will not solve the nurse shortage in aged care the wage gap between aged care and public and private hospitals is too great. But it is a vital first step to address the problem of low wages.” Brett Holmes says while the government has made the money available to improve wages it can not be taken for granted that employers will fully cooperate. “Some employers, either for ideological or other reasons, will refuse to engage with the Workforce Compact and pass up the opportunity to improve their employees wages. “Employer groups have not signed up to the compact and only one was represented at its launch by Aged Care Minister Mark Butler. “Past experience tells us that if it was left to them the money would not be passed on to workers. But this time there is a transparent, legally enforceable mechanism in place that obliges employers to pass all of the money from the compact to workers. “The key to keeping employers honest will be strong member organisation and an enterprise agreement at each workplace.”
22 | THE LAMP APRIL 2013
What the Aged Care Compact delivers Every aged care worker under an approved enterprise agreement will receive at least a 1% additional wage increase on top of employer-funded increase in 2013, 2014 and 2015 and a 0.5% increases in 2016. In addition, employers must fund annual wage increases of at least 2.7% per annum or the Fair Work annual wage review increase – whichever is higher. Rates for Personal Care Workers/AiNs and support staff must be at least 3% above the Aged Care Award 2010 and the rates for ENs and RNs must be at least 8.5% and 12.65% above the Nurses Award 2010 respectively. These can be phased in over three years by those employers who are currently on the award rates.
HOW IT WILL WORK To access the government money an employer in residential aged care and home and community care, or an employer that is a residential provider of 50 beds or more, must have an enterprise agreement approved by Fair Work Australia that contains all elements of the compact. The enterprise agreement is a legally enforceable document that will guarantee employers pass all of the funding to aged care nurses and carers. If your agreement has not yet expired the employer will have to sit down with members and the NSWNMA to vary the current agreement so that it complies with the compact requirements. These variations will be minimal.
Brett says there are still other opportunities to improve care and nurses’ pay and conditions in aged care. “The Gillard Government has set up the Aged Care Financing Authority to investigate the true cost of aged care, including what reasonable wage levels should be. We await its findings with interest.” The Federal Minister for Ageing, Mark Butler, said the Aged Care Compact was an important milestone. “This addresses something that was identified by the Productivity Commission, by the aged care sector and by consumer groups, as perhaps the most important challenge in having a good quality, sustainable aged care system for the future,” he said. “There are currently around 350,000 workers in the aged care sector. Over the following decades we’ll need to increase that workforce to nearly one million. One in 20 workers in Australia will be an aged care worker. “Our recent workforce census showed that more than 60% of residential care facilities say they have difficulty in getting the Registered Nurses that they need. “The Productivity Commission told us that we should make sure aged care funding is directed in a way that would underpin fair and competitive wages for aged care staff.They said that wages were the major hurdle to attracting and keeping the aged care workforce that we need.”
What they had to say Mark Butler, Minister for Ageing “This will go a long way to improving the capacity of the aged care sector to attract and, importantly, retain the quality, dedicated aged care workers that we need. “In my experience aged care workers don’t work in the aged care sector for the money. They do it because they love the work. That in itself has to stop being an excuse for paying such low wages for such important work.” Brett Holmes, NSWNMA General Secretary “It won’t close the wages gap between public and private hospitals and the aged care sector, but it will go a long way to improving outcomes for our members in aged care. “The fact that it is tied to enterprise bargaining is the only way to ensure that commonwealth money will flow through to the wages of our members.” Jocelyn Hofman, RN from the Blue Mountains “It will make a big difference to all the nurses who work in aged care and look after our elderly. There will be more nurses coming in, staffing will increase and there will be better care for our elderly. “As much as we want to care for our elderly there’s not enough time because there’s not enough staff and we are spread so thinly. It’s really going to make a big difference.” Lee Thomas, Federal Secretary, ANF “For the first time ever a federal government has dedicated money to aged care workers and has tied it to enterprise bargaining so we are assured that nurses, AiNs and ancillary workers can get an increase in wages. “These workers are among the lowest paid in our communities and do some of our most important work. It’s a fantastic day. Congratulations to the Gillard Government and to Minister Butler.”
New grant for aged care nurses A new grants program will soon be available for Registered and Enrolled Nurses working in aged care, made possible by a generous funding grant from the Old Peoples’ Welfare Council (OPWC) to the NSWNMA. OPWC is a charitable organisation formed in the early 1980s on the Central Coast. At the time its primary goal was to create affordable housing for older people in the local community. This included building and operating Kiah Lodge, a retirement village in Bateau Bay. The OPWC sold the retirement village in the late 80s and the group began focussing on funding specific projects to assist older people in the region. This has included grants for further education and training in aged care, and donations for aged care related equipment for local hospitals. In 2012, the OPWC approached the NSWNMA about developing a partnership grants program for Registered and Enrolled Nurses working in aged care. The OPWC has provided funding to the Association on the understanding that the Association can provide project management expertise and can reach aged care nurses through our strong membership in the sector.
THE LAMP APRIL 2013 | 23
RETIREMENT AGE
Older, wiser and unsupported Nurses working past the retirement age are calling for equal rights to superannuation and workers compensation.
Connie Cullen
24 | THE LAMP APRIL 2013
AUSTRALIA’S AGEING POPULATION IS BEING pushed to keep working past the retirement age, but bear the costs of doing so themselves. Although the federal government raised the pension age to 67 in 2009, workers compensation payments still terminate by the age of retirement and superannuation is only paid until the age of 70. Veteran nurse Connie Cullen is an 80year-old Nurse Unit Manager. She feels that terminating workers comp and super based on age is “absolute discrimination”. “I believe that if you’re working, you should get workers comp and super. It shouldn’t be stopped just because of age,” the RN said. “It’s a non-level playing field for older people. “I’ve got a lot of scrub nurses that are close to 60 and once upon a time, to be considered scrubbing in at 60, they’d say you were too old,” Connie says. “You’re there holding and passing instruments to the surgeons and you often don’t get a morning tea break til 12 o’clock or one o’clock and you hit the place at eight o’clock, so people have to like their work to be that committed. “It’s a very stimulating and exciting job but it’s also very emotionally draining and it’s hard physically,” the NUM told The Lamp. Connie has been working as an RN at Westmead Hospital since it opened in 1978 and currently manages a team of surgical and operating theatre staff. “It is physically demanding but it’s like everything that you do day-in and day-out, you get used to it,” Connie said. “The commitment in the older staff is quite remarkable.” Connie is calling for policies to ensure working nurses and midwives are paid superannuation and covered for workplace accidents, regardless of their age.
“Why should it make any difference, depending on your age, whether or not you can be paid workers comp? They’re doing a job and I feel very strongly about that,” Connie said. Director of Nursing at St Mary’s Villa Nursing Home, Lucille McKenna, believes better legislation is needed to retain older nurses. “Since the federal government is promoting and asking people to keep working, I think they need to make sure, particularly in state government, that they’ve got all their legislation in place to support older people,” Lucille told The Lamp. “They’re a bit behind the times when it comes to keeping older nurses working. When it comes to things like workers comp, they’re dragging the chain.” According to the latest population projections by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the number of Australians over the age of 65 will double in the next four decades. Within the next seven years, almost 85% of labour market growth will come from people over the age of 45.
Lucille, who is 70, believes that retaining experienced nurses is important as they have more expertise and clinical knowledge to contribute in the workplace. “Because you’re experienced, you’ve seen most things before so you have that wealth of knowledge to capture when there are difficulties or problems,” the DoN explained. “You take on a senior clinician’s role in educating younger nurses, in supporting them and mentoring them, and I hope I’ve done that with many. “I’m a very collaborative nurse, I like to run things past the Registered Nurses and I think I’m a very inclusive manager, so you have the benefit of the younger people too and their knowledge.” Lucille has worked in aged care for 45 years, where she sees many nurses who are also working past the retirement age. “In my facility there are probably three that are past the pension age at the moment; we don’t have a retirement age anymore.”
“We don’t have a retirement age anymore” — DoN Lucille McKenna
Retaining older nurses Planned changes to the NHS pension scheme and a harsh financial climate are pressuring British nurses to work beyond the normal retirement age. This has led to a Working Longer Review made up of representatives of the Department of Health, health trusts and health trade unions. Measures being looked at to encourage the retention of older nurses in Britain include: • Adequate resources and support to deliver high quality patient care. • Appropriate recognition and use of skills and experience. • Tailored education and training. • Continued opportunities for career advice and progression. • Equal access to flexible working. • Proactive occupational health systems. • Flexible approaches to retirement.
A mentor till the end Martha Keochareon, a nurse dying from pancreatic cancer, had one last project – to teach nursing students about death from the patient’s perspective. The New York Times (NYT) recently featured the moving and inspirational story of Martha who, on her death bed, offered nursing students an opportunity not only to examine her, but to ask anything they wanted about her experience with cancer and dying. For Martha it was a chance to teach something about the profession she had come to late and loved. She became a nurse at 40, after working for years in a factory. “When I was a nurse, it seemed like most of the other nurses were never too happy having a student to teach,” she told the NYT. “I loved it.” This love of mentoring prompted Martha to contact her former nursing school and make an intriguing offer. “I have cancer and I’m wondering if you’ll need somebody to do a case study on a hospice patient,” she recorded on the school’s answering machine. The school allocated two students – Cindy Santiago and Michelle Elliott – to be the beneficiaries of Martha’s wisdom. Seven years before, after Martha had felt sick for several years, a doctor finally ordered a CT scan, and pancreatic cancer was diagnosed. She was 53 and working at a hospital in Charleston, South Carolina. She was told she would likely die within a year or two. The first emotion she felt after her diagnosis was relief, because she finally knew what was wrong with her. It also put her in an authoritative position to teach students about the challenge of managing late-stage cancer pain in a patient who had outlived her prognosis. Her cancer had spread and there were tumours in her bones and around her throat. “I forget half the stuff I learned as a nurse, but I remember everything about pancreatic cancer. Because I’m living it,” she said. Read more about Martha’s final journey at: www.nytimes.com/2013/01/11/us/fatally-ill-andmaking-herself-the-lesson.html
THE LAMP APRIL 2013 | 25
CLIMATE CHANGE
Health at risk from extreme climate A new report has found that complacency among Australia’s health professionals towards the impacts of climate change is putting lives at risk.
48ºC 46ºC 44ºC 42ºC 40ºC 38ºC 36ºC 34ºC 32ºC 30ºC 28ºC 26ºC 24ºC 22ºC 20ºC 18ºC 16ºC 14ºC
26 | THE LAMP APRIL 2013
The mercury just keeps rising Australia had its hottest day on record on Monday January 7 this year, with a nationwide average of 40.33°c, breaking a 40-year-old record. Tuesday January 8 was the third hottest day at 40.11°C. Sydney experienced its hottest day ever at 46°c on January 18. Four of Australia’s hottest 10 days on record have been in 2013. “There’s little doubt that this is a very, very extreme heatwave event,” said David Jones, manager of climate monitoring and prediction at Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology. If you look at its extent, its duration, its intensity, it is arguably the most significant in Australia’s history.”
AUSTRALIAN HEALTHCARE SYSTEMS are poorly prepared to cope with extreme weather events and Australia’s health professionals lack understanding of the health impacts of climate change, according to a report by the Climate and Health Alliance. The national alliance of health sector organisations, including the ANF, says extreme weather is threatening the lives and health of all Australians, but particularly those in rural and remote areas, those who are disadvantaged, poor, unwell, disabled, homeless, elderly, or very young, and those who are highly exposed. The report says Australians are “neither prepared for, nor informed about, the dangers of the warming climate and the severity and scale of extreme events they are likely to experience in coming years and decades. “The unprecedented national heatwave of January 2013, floods of 2011, wild weather of 2012, and bush fires of 2009, give an insight into the weather of a warming world. It is a world that may become increasingly dangerous in coming years, intolerable in coming decades and uninhabitable in coming centuries,” it says. The study cites recent overseas and local examples of the health system creaking under the strain of extreme weather.
“The recent Hurricane Sandy in New York provides a sobering insight into the health care consequences associated with extreme events. Two hospitals that lost power at the height of the storm were obliged to suddenly evacuate patients, with 300 patients evacuated from the New York University Langone Medical Center via darkened stairwells, and over 700 patients evacuated from Bellevue Hospital. “Closer to home, Cyclone Larry caused significant damage to hospital infrastructure in Queensland in 2006, with Innisfail Hospital forced to close, the Herberton Hospital losing power, and a leaking roof at the Atherton Hospital forcing a partial evacuation. The demand for services overwhelmed available human resources and nurses were required to travel from Brisbane to provide support to the region.” The report points out that not only do extreme weather events cause injuries and deaths, as well as mental trauma, there are also other health risks such as increased incidences of food and water borne diseases associated with heat waves and flooding. It warns that things will get far worse as extreme weather patterns increase in frequency and intensity as the climate continues to change.
The report’s key points climate change is • Human-induced contributing to increases in the frequency and severity of extreme weather events. is at risk from a lack of • Health investment in preparation and capacity building in response and recovery. ability of the health sector to • The respond is compromised and there is an urgent need to improve its capacity to manage future demand for services. national plan must be developed to • Aprotect health from climate change, including from extreme weather events.
THE LAMP APRIL 2013 | 27
CLIMATE CHANGE
United States and China move towards price on carbon For years climate change sceptics and their political fellow travellers in Australia have argued that large carbon emitters like the United States and China have not acted on climate change and, therefore, nor should Australia. This argument is now crumbling as both the United States and China move to implement a carbon price system, based on an emissions trading system like Australia’s. President Obama made clear to the US Congress in his State of the Union address last month that he will intervene to break the deadlock on climate change action. “We must do more to combat climate change,” he said. “It’s true that no single event makes a trend. But the fact is the 12 hottest years on record have all come in the last 15. “Heat waves, droughts, wildfires, floods – all are now more frequent and more intense. “We can choose to believe that super storm Sandy and the most severe drought in decades and the worst wildfires some states have ever seen were just a freak coincidence. Or we can choose to believe in the overwhelming judgment of science and act before it is too late. “I urge this congress to get together to pursue a bipartisan market-based solution to climate change. But if congress won’t act soon to protect future generations, I will.” The United States isn’t the only place which is now looking to follow the path on climate change action marked out by Australia over the past few years. China is well advanced in implementing an emissions trading system similar to ours. Its largest cities and industrial centres such as Beijing, Chongqing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Tianjin, Guangdong and Hubei, have developed regional emission trading systems. A national scheme will be implemented from around 2015-16. China’s emissions reduction target (40-45% below 2005 levels) is significantly more ambitious than Australia’s (5-25% below 2000 levels). 28 | THE LAMP APRIL 2013
roasted toasted fried & grilled The World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland is an annual get together of the world’s richest and most powerful. Its central focus is usually economic growth and how to get richer. This year Davos was different – climate change was a central concern among the world’s plutocrats. Here is what some of the participants had to say:
“We can choose to believe that super storm Sandy and the most severe drought in decades and the worst wildfires some states have ever seen were just a freak coincidence. Or we can choose to believe in the overwhelming judgment of science and act before it is too late.” — President Obama
“unless we take action on climate change, future generations will be roasted, toasted, fried and grilled.” — christine lagarde, managing director, international monetary fund.
Sa Save ve the date “i got it wrong on climate change — it’s far, far worse. this is potentially so dangerous that we have to act strongly. the risks for many people are existential.” — nicholas stern, author of the groundbreaking Stern Report, which played a major role in putting global warming on to the international political agenda.
“Just how many apocalyptic signs are required before global leaders get serious about preventing climate change? I am deeply concerned about the Alice in Wonderland perception of the big picture of what is happening in our world.” — Jim Harris, Corporate Knights, a media and investment research firm.
PROFESSIONAL
DAY D AY TIME:
Wednesday W ednesda e y 7 August 2013
9am – 5pm, Registr Registration ation from 7am. VENUE: Rosehill Gar Gardens, dens, James Ruse Drive Drive,, Rosehill. COST COST:: NSWNMA members $50, Br anch Officials Branch and students: free free of charge, charge, Non-members $100.
SOCIAL MEDIA
BEHIND THE MAD, THE MUNDANE AND THE mindless posts there are some serious messages on Twitter for health professionals. Researchers are now mining the infuriating 140 letter thought ejaculations to gain valuable public health data. Because of its immediacy, Twitter in particular is providing a new way to track where diseases occur and how they are being treated.This allows “big data” mining of real time tweets, a sort of open cut approach to digging up a resource and then extracting the good stuff from the overburden. That extraction process is now the subject of much research on the best way to find out what’s happening “in the wild” and how to make sense of the incessant, and not necessarily well-informed, chatter of millions.
Mining twitter Seven years after its launch, Twitter has who post 200 million tweets a day, many
Professor of Public Health at Sydney University, Simon Chapman, uses the term “communicated diseases,” to describe some of the chatter, for instance on wind turbine syndrome. In less than two hours of online research he found mention of nearly 50 wind turbine-related diseases. Further research brought the number to 155, many of them problems that affect large proportions of any community, including those living far from the alleged blades of death. In an online article in The Conversation, Professor Chapman writes that in four decades working on three continents he has encountered nothing in the history of disease that is thought to have caused a fraction of the problems claimed, online, by opponents 30 | THE LAMP APRIL 2013
of wind turbine electricity generation. But despite the dubiousness of such apparent mass “cyberchondria”, the highly respected Pew Research Centre says phone surveys do not support “the oft expressed fear that patients are using the internet to self-diagnose and self-medicate without reference to medical professionals. Instead, advice from peers is a supplement to what a doctor or nurse may have to say about a health situation that arises.” In fact, according to Pew researchers, this same “peer-to-peer” discussion has many indirect benefits to both sufferers and health professionals, especially in the case of rare diseases where sufferers can find solace from knowing other people are dealing with similar problems.
NSWNMA & Twitter The NSWNMA has two Twitter accounts: @nswnma (twitter.com/nswnma) and @nurseuncut (twitter.com/nurseuncut). With its emphasis on industrial, union and health, @nswnma is well connected to health journalists, other unions in Australia and internationally, NGOs, professional organisations, academics and activists in healthcare social media. As The Lamp went to print the @nswnma Twitter account had 2370 followers. @nurseuncut is an outlet for stories by and for Australian nurses on the Nurse Uncut blog. This Twitter channel has a large international audience of individual nurses and is oriented toward nursing stories and issues. As The Lamp went to print it had 1570 followers.
for better health
Use and look for the hashtag #morenurses for news about our 2013 Public Health Service campaign.
300 million users on the subject of health.
According to Pew,“each person is an expert in observing the effects of a disease or a treatment on their own or a loved one’s body or mind. In this way, rare disease patients and caregivers who gather together online are an example of a ‘smart’ group, the elements of which James Surowiecki described in his book, The Wisdom of Crowds as ‘diverse and decentralised, yet able to pool knowledge and summarise their observations, no matter how eccentric or individual they may be.’” The associate director of the Pew Internet & American Life Project, Susannah Fox, said one in five Americans uses the internet to find people with similar health concerns. “We have this ancient instinct to find other people who share our same problems
It’s easy to start a Twitter account, get the Twitter app on your smartphone and follow @nswnma and @nurseuncut. It’s an easy and instant way to keep in touch and to spread Association news links and photos to your colleagues and friends.
so we can solve them together,” she said.The internet made this faster and easier but it was still the same instinct at play. For patients and those who care for them, social networks could offer solace from what can be a lonely battle for survival, Fox says. And while social networking services like Twitter have played a particular role in offering support, and the chance to share experiences among fellow sufferers of rare and chronic diseases, patients still turn to a health professional for treatment rather than the internet. In their paper, You Are What you Tweet, Michael J. Paul and Mark Dredze of the Human Language Technology Centre of Excellence at Johns Hopkins University, mined a mind numbing 1.5 million health-
related tweets.The pair tracked illnesses over time, measured behavioral risk factors, localised illnesses by geographic region and analysed symptoms and medication usage. They concluded that using Twitter scientifically could replace more expensive and time consuming methods used by public health officials and researchers, and also expand the range of what could be easily measured. The number of people going online to track down their ailments, imagined or otherwise, will grow on free services like Twitter. But whenever Dr Google puts up a paywall they are more likely than not to leave the virtual waiting room. So keep on tweeting. You could be contributing to public health in a whole new way. THE LAMP APRIL 2013 | 31
LETTERS
32 | THE LAMP APRIL 2013
Q&A
ASK JUDITH Editorial note regarding February question “Cashing out annual leave” In the February 2013 issue of The Lamp, information was supplied in relation to cashing out annual leave entitlements. As a point of clarification, members need to be aware that cashing out annual leave has taxation implications depending on your current marginal rate, how close to the next marginal rate your salary is, and if the amount you are cashing out will take you into another marginal tax rate. In all cases, the cashed out amount will be added to your normal pay and tax will be calculated as if the total amount is your normal pay. This may mean that an employee will be taxed at the highest marginal tax rate for this pay. Some employees may have the possibility of receiving a tax refund when they submit their tax returns. For further information employees should seek independent financial advice.
Daylight savings overtime I am rostered to work night shift starting at 23:00 on Saturday April 6. The shift finishes at 07:30 on Sunday. I am advised that daylight saving ends on Sunday morning at 03:00 when the clocks go back one hour. This effectively means that I will work one extra hour on this shift. Do I receive one hour paid overtime? The Standard Time Act 1971 (as amended) states that the procedure for calculating time worked during a shift where the clock goes back (or forward) is to be represented by the time on the clock at the beginning and end of that shift. This means that, unfortunately, when working overnight when daylight saving finishes you do not receive a one hour overtime payment. Those responsible for rostering should attempt to ensure that employees are rotated so the effects of daylight saving are evenly distributed.
Ratios or not? I work in a public hospital and my manager has advised me that staffing ratios do not exist in New South Wales. They have advised me that we have Nursing Hours Per Patient Day (NHPPD). Is this true? The Award has two names for the staffing system won in 2011.Yes, it is a ‘nursing hours’ system but can also be expressed as ‘an equivalent ratio’. Both are correct. I refer you to sub-clause (iv) (c) of Section II, of Clause 53, Staffing Arrangements, of the Public Health System Nurses’ and Midwives’ (State) Award 2011, which states: “(iv) Section II: Nursing Hours Wards and Units (c) The Association and the Ministry have agreed that staffing will be determined by the Nursing Hours Per Patient Day (‘NHPPD’) specified below, provided over a week, to determine the number of nurses required to provide direct clinical care. The number of nursing hours per patient day may also be expressed as an equivalent ratio.”
Termination pay owing I resigned from a Public Hospital a month ago and still haven’t received my termination pay. Does the Award prescribe anything about this? Yes, sub-clause (iii) of Clause 27, Payment and Particulars of Salaries, of the Public Health System Nurses’ and Midwives’ (State) Award 2011 states: “(iii) an employee who has given or has been given the required notice of termination of employment, in accordance with clause 41, Termination of Employment, shall be paid all monies due to him/her prior to ceasing duty on the last day of employment.
When it comes to your rights and entitlements at work, NSWNMA Assistant General Secretary JUDITH KIEJDA has the answers.
Returning to work after six years I am an RN and have been absent from nursing for six years and am planning on returning to work soon. Are there any issues that may stop me from returning? Since the introduction of the National Law in July 2010 the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (National Board or NMBA) has approved a number of registration standards one of which is Recency of Practice. The recency of practice standard applies to all nurses and midwives when they reapply for registration each year. Previously, Registered Nurses and Midwives in Australia who had not practised for a period of between five to 10 years were required to undergo an individual assessment of their application. The reentry to practice policy document was developed to set out processes to be followed when nurses and midwives do not meet the recency of practice requirements. Relevant state and territory boards or registration committees of the NMBA make individual decisions about whether a person applying for re-entry to the profession, who has not practiced for a period of between five to 10 years, needs to be directed to a board-approved period of supervised practice or to a boardapproved re-entry to practice program. However, as part of the policy implementation, and to assist with national consistency, the National Board developed a set of principles to assist in the decision making of the local boards. These principles incorporate consideration of some key elements such as professional competence, confidence and capability. The key underlying principle for re-entry to practice decisions is the safety of the health practitioner to practice in the profession. It should be noted that supervised practice is intended to consolidate and confirm existing knowledge; if it is determined that an applicant has insufficient current knowledge they will be directed to complete a re-entry to practice program. The first thing you need to do to get the ball rolling is to contact the Australian Health Practitioners Regulation Authority (AHPRA) to see where you stand.
THE LAMP APRIL 2013 | 33
JOBST® UltraSheer Stockings forMen Sockss JOBST T® forM
JOBST
Many people experience tired ed aching aching legs associated a with being on theirr feet experience tir for long periods of time, problems such as varicose time, or due to existing existing vascular vasc icose veins. Others would likee to pr preserve legs to prevent the onsett of would simply lik eserve their leg any of these conditions.
Durability Durability yarnn used in JOBST Medical LegW LegWear stockings The long lasting yar ear means that the stoc kings and socks alternatively). natively). socks last from 4 - 6 months (based on 2 pairs being used alter Jobst Ultrasheer aree late latexx fr free. ee. Ultrasheer and Jobst forMen ar
JOBST Medical LegWear LegWear applies sustained ggraduated raduated compression to the wearer’s wearer’s legs. Available Available in compression compression levels of 15 - 20 2 mmHg, 20 - 30 mmHg* order der for you to enjoy enjoy your Jobst Jobs Stockings and socks, and 30 - 40 mmHg*. In or correct it is important you select the corr ect size. size.
Available pharmacies Available from phar pha macies or contact: stockist. Smith & Nephew p on o 1800 818 122 for your local stoc kist.
Black
Midnight
c Black
Brown
Natural
* Doctor’s rrecommendation. ecommendation.
an
Black Pattern
Division Smith & Nephew Pty Pty Ltd Healthcare Division Australia Australia www.smith-nephew.com.au/healthcare www.smith-nephew.com.au/healthcare
New Zealand www.smith-nephew.com/nz www.smith-nephew
Customer Service T 1800 818 122 F 1800 671 000 E jobstcs@smith-nephew.com jobstcs@smith-nephew.com
Customer Service T 0800 807 663 F 0800 263 222 22 E jobstcs@smith-nephew.com jobstcs@smith-nephew.com
® Register Registered red T Trademark rademark r SN10537 (12/2012)
Quality legal advice for NSWNMA members 2 Compensation and negligence claims 2 Motor vehicle claims 2 Wage loss claims 2 Industrial and Employment law
2 First Free Consultation for all members 2 Discounted rates for members on all matters 2 Free Standard Wills 2 No win – no charge*
Call the NSWNMA on 1300 367 962 and find out how you can access this great service. Offices in Sydney, Newcastle and visiting offices in regional areas (by appointment). *Conditions apply
s t i f e n e b r e b you r me m As a member of a defined benefit super scheme take time out and make sure you’re maximising your benefits.
For or over 20 years, State Super Financial Services (SSFS) has been assisting current and former NSW nursing professionals take advantage of opportunities which come from being a member of a defined benefit super scheme. During this time we’ve enhanced the financial outcomes of more than 200,000 public sector employees. So, if you’re thinking about: Retirement Redundancy Ways to increase your super nest egg Whether your investment structure is right for you your local SSFS team is there to provide you with the decision support you need.
So call us now on 1800 620 305 or visit www www.ssfs.com.au .ssfs.com.au and set yourself up today for the lifestyle you want now and in the future.
Your Y o futur our future. fu e. Your Your o choice. Y Your o financial planners our State Super Financial Services Australia Limited (SSFS) AFS Licence 238430, ABN 86 003 742 756. This information is of a general nature only and contains no advice. Before making any decisions based on this information you should consider its appropriateness to you. Neither the SAS Trustee Corporation, the Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation (CSC) nor the Australian or NSW Governments take any responsibility for this information or the services offered by SSFS. SSFS_LAMP_0413
WHAT’S
SOCIAL MEDIA
NURSE UNCUT
HOT THIS MONTH
A BLOG FOR AUSTRALIAN NURSES AND MIDWIVES www.nurseuncut.com.au
Sign up for the weekly email newsletter that alerts you to new posts.
Nurse Uncut is also on Facebook: www.facebook.com/NurseUncutAustralia. And on Twitter @nurseuncut
Emergency in the Outback www.nurseuncut.com.au/experience-nursing-mass-casualties-in-the-remote-outback/
Jason Woodward was working in ED in the Northern Territory when word came of a serious car accident ...
It all fell apart www.nurseuncut.com.au/it-all-fell-apart/
Raj, a gay nurse in Malaysia, tells of discovering he was HIV positive and its impact on his career and life.
Nurses fired for refusing flu vaccine www.nurseuncut.com.au/nurses-fired-for-refusing-flu-vaccine/
The flu reached epidemic levels in the US last winter and several nurses were fired for refusing the vaccine.
Me and nursing – contributors wanted! www.nurseuncut.com.au/me-and-nursing-contributors-wanted/
A new Nurse Uncut series in which you tell your nursing or midwifery story – what you love or hate, highlights and low points.
A new mural for the Association www.nurseuncut.com.au/a-new-mural-for-the-nurses-and-midwives-union/
A wonderful new mural shows the history of nurses and midwives as union activists.
Louise can’t wait to return to PNG www.nurseuncut.com.au/louise-cant-wait-to-return-to-png/
Paediatric nurse Louise Devereux loved her six months as a volunteer in Papua New Guinea and can’t wait to go back.
The nurse will see you now www.nurseuncut.com.au/the-nurse-will-see-you-now/
GP practice nurses, especially in rural areas, face obstacles to the full use of their expertise.
Boozed up in Byron www.nurseuncut.com.au/boozed-up-in-byron-and-elsewhere/
Byron Bay has a drinking problem – and health staff feel the brunt.
ONLINE
nsw nurses & midwives
@nurseuncut
36 | THE LAMP APRIL 2013
Follow us on Twitter >> NSWNurses & Midwives @nswnma Watch us on YouTube >> SupportNurses Connect with us on Facebook >> www.facebook.com/nswnma Aged Care Nurses >> www.facebook.com/agedcarenurses Ratios put patient safety first >> www.facebook.com/safepatientcare
SOCIAL MEDIA
WHAT
Keep me logged in
Forgot your Password?
NURSES & MIDWIVES SAID & LIKED on facebook www.facebook.com/nswnma
“Lazy nurses” Husband of Blue Mountains MP Roza Sage sparks “lazy nurses” row with Twitter comment.
Wanted: experienced trainee As a newly graduated EEN, how do you get a position within the industry if you have no experience – all jobs want experience – how do you get that if you can’t get a job? Confused!
Perhaps he would like to have my position for a week and see how lazy we really are. I wonder if he has ever worked a shift or even a double without a bathroom break, a drink of water or lunch break or even a sit down during the whole time he was at work! I can say there is more than one nurse out there that has and why? ‘Cause a nurse cares about what they do! Welcome to the club. Nursing agencies also want at least one year experience. They do not count your clinical placements at all. So be prepared to be rejected. Advice from a rejected RN – keep trying. Thanks for the encouragement. I have been an AiN for many years and have never been without employment; now that I have undertaken more training, I am without employment as are many of my nursing friends. Hospitals won’t look at us, agencies need more experience and in most aged care, you have to start as an AiN! The government is full of empty words. I work in emergency and it is getting harder every day; people are using it as a GP office and we can’t turn them away. Something really needs to be done.
Visits to MPs Newcastle nurses visited their MP to discuss the need for more nurses to extend staff-patient ratios. Flu vaccines in the US Nurses in the US were fired for refusing flu vaccines. With winter approaching we asked if you would be having the vaccine?
Baby care A baby with meningitis waited hours in ED but the hospital general manager said the department was adequately staffed. After reading this, the baby’s mother said “It was made clear to me that it was extremely busy ... and there were staffing issues. So to read in the paper claims there were not, made me extremely angry.”
Definitely not! They can fire me! We put on PPE clothing left right and centre these days, isn’t that supposed to protect us and patients? No way! Never have and never will! I will get vaccinated but support others’ right to refuse. Yeah, but gotta say only if our gorgeous infection control nurse and our immunisation nurse come around to the wards with their trolley ... just ‘cause I’m slack about wasting my lunch break at the clinic! I know it’s a dead form of the virus and I’m all for immunisation. But this is the only shot I don’t get. The three years I got it I became so ill. Haven’t had one since 2009 and haven’t had the flu since. Say no and miss out on a lollipop? No way! Yearly vacs for me please! I missed out last year and got sick. Not missing it this year. No way. Had it last year and was sick for three months. Never been so ill. Plus wear PPE gear. It absolutely disgusts me! Why for once can’t someone in the hierarchy say “we had the full complement of staff the government affords us - but not nearly enough to do our job properly!” Just ‘cause some bloody piece of paper says there should be 30 nurses on and there was, doesn’t mean that there was nothing more that could’ve been done!
THE LAMP APRIL 2013 | 37
SWITCH TO DIRECT DEBIT AND WIN
a wonderful escape to
Norfolk Island
Start paying your NSWNMA fees by Direct Debit for the chance to win a holiday for two to Norfolk Island! The prize includes return airfares for two from Sydney or Brisbane International airport with Air New Zealand; 4 nights accommodation at the boutique Poinciana Cottages; car hire; half-day orientation island tour; sunset cliff top fish fry; breakfast bush walk with NI Touring; Mastering Taste chef school with Hilli’s Restaurant & Wine Bar; Two Chimney Winery platter and bottle of wine; and a welcome pack on arrival for each person. Norfolk Island, the wonderful Island destination, is just a 2 and a half hours short flight away with Air New Zealand. There’s more to Norfolk Island than you may think. Relax over a famous “Vineyard Platter”, enjoyed with a local glass or two, on the Cellar Door verandah at the Two Chimney’s Winery; learn to cook like a chef with Hilli’s Restaurant & Wine Bar Mastering Taste Cooking Tour. Whether you are having a quick bite to eat between activities, or settling in for an extended dining experience, Norfolk Island’s dining experience
is enhanced by the seasonal, homegrown freshness of its produce. Try your best swing at the Norfolk Island Golf Course, dramatically situated along the rugged coastline. Snorkel in Emily Bay, explore around the islands historic salt farms from under the turquoise water or escape for the afternoon at one of the many picnic spots along the cliff tops. We look forward to welcoming you to our 360º of Wonder.
Contact Adventure World on 1300 295 161 or email info@adventureworld.com.au for more information about Norfolk Island. Conditions: the prize is not transferable or redeemable in cash; prize is valid for 12 months after the draw date; flights and accommodation are subject to availability; times of tours and availability are subject to change without notice.
HERE’S HOW YOU CAN WIN s # s #ANCEL YOUR PAYROLL DEDUCTIONS AND START PAYING YOUR FEES ANCEL YOUR PAYROLL DEDUCTIONS AND START PAYING YOUR FEES through direct debit and you will go into the lucky draw and/or s # s #ONVINCE YOUR COLLEAGUES TO CONVERT FROM PAYROLL DEDUCTIONS ONVINCE YOUR COLLEAGUES TO CONVERT FROM PAYROLL DEDUCTIONS to direct debit, and you and each of your colleagues who switch to direct debit will go into the lucky draw and/or s 3 s 3IGN UP A NEW MEMBER USING THE DIRECT DEBIT METHOD OF IGN UP A NEW MEMBER USING THE DIRECT DEBIT METHOD OF w member will go into paying their fees, and you and the new the lucky draw draw..
luxuryy holiday! Direct debit is not only the easiest and most convenient way to pay your membership, but switching over could win you a luxur Don’tt risk your membership lapsing from changing workplaces. W With ith direct debit you are always protected on the job. Don’
Membership Application forms or Direct Debit forms can be downloaded from our website www www.nswnma.asn.au. .nswnma.asn.au. Alternatively call the NSWNMA on 8595 1234 (metro area) or 1300 367 962 (non-metro area) for more information.
NURSING RESEARCH ONLINE
This month’s articles come from the Virginia Henderson International Nursing Library, an openaccess digital service that disseminates nursing-related research materials in both abstract-only and full-text format. The library is dedicated to bringing the latest research on nursing knowledge important to all nurses – clinicians, researchers, educators and students. Submissions may be made by individual nurses and nursing students as well as nursing organisations and may include pre- and post-print articles, working papers, theses, dissertations, doctorate of nursing practice projects, conference papers, presentations, faculty-created learning objects, data sets, and more. Impact of Workplace Incivility on Staff Nurses including Productivity and Financial Consequences
Decision-making on limb amputation: The patient’s point of view
Patricia Lewis and Ann Malecha
Valena Tzevlin, Einet Malul and Michal Rassin
Workplace Incivility is “low-intensity deviant behavior with ambiguous intent to harm the target, in violation of workplace norms for mutual respect.” (Andersson & Pearson, 1999, p. 452). Healthy work environments are linked to patient safety and positive outcomes. The aims of this study were to determine relationships and predictors of individual and organisational factors influencing workplace incivility as well as its impact on productivity and costs. The authors concluded that hospitals cannot afford the people and financial impact of workplace incivility. The influence on nurses and patient safety cannot be discounted. Civility matters!
How patients make decisions about their future treatment has been sparsely studied and with respect to limb amputation, a particularly difficult decision, not at all. The purpose of this study was to reach as deep understanding as possible of how, from the patients’ point of view, they reach the decision to consent to the amputation of a lower limb. The main thematic categories identified were: the trail of torment leading to the decision to amputate; the turning point — taking the decision; “I just couldn’t take any more pain”; “we opt for life, we don’t want to die”. The more protracted and pain-filled the “the trail of torment” the more mentally prepared patients were to give consent to amputation. Asked to look back on their choice, almost all interviewees had no regrets and even found virtues in it. The authors concluded that the patients’ decisions represented a mix of their grasp of the medical information supplied to them by their doctors, their own personal values – opting for life prevailing over the desire for a whole body – and consideration for their family. The patients saw the decision-making process about amputation as a process of achieving consensus between themselves, their doctors and their family.
www.nursinglibrary.org/vhl/handle/10755/201887
Symptom clusters in persons undergone abdominal surgery Julaluk Haramee and Supaporn Duangpaeng
Post abdominal surgery symptoms cause patient suffering, complication, delay recovery and decrease activity of daily living. Finding symptom clusters could help professionals providing comprehensive and individualised care. On the first post-operative day there were two symptom clusters. The first included 1) post-operative pain, anxiety and insomnia; and the second cluster included flatulence and fatigue. Post-operative pain contributed to form different symptom clusters between two studies. On the third post-operative day, a study conducted in tertiary care setting had only one symptom cluster while the other study conducted in a secondary care setting had two symptom clusters: the first included 1) post-operative pain, flatulence and fatigue and the second cluster included anxiety and insomnia. The authors concluded that discrepancy in operation time and pain management in the first post-operative day contributed to different symptom clusters. Therefore, a basic knowledge of symptom cluster could be used to develop setting-appropriated guidelines to effectively manage post-operative symptom for persons undergone abdominal surgery and research program related to post-operative symptom clusters.
http://hdl.handle.net/10755/243201
http://hdl.handle.net/10755/243361
REGISTERED NURSING RE-ENTRY PROGRAM NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE Accredited program available via flexible delivery Clinical Placements in your local area Online education allows you to study part-time Scholarships / Government Funding available for eligible students
Institute of Health and Nursing Australia Web: www.ihna.edu.au
Tel: 1800 22 52 83
Email: info@ihna.edu.au THE LAMP APRIL 2013 | 39
LOOKS LOOKS LIKE THE BIG FOUR FOUR COME LOA AN . A BIG SECOND SECOND ON HOME LOANS. ANS FOR FOR NS NSWNMA WNMA MEMBERS MEMBERS,, WE’ WE’VE VE BEEN LOWER LOWER THAN THE BIG BANK BANKS S SINCE 2001.
% %$#"! $#"! "! " #" $#" " " " $# "$ #" $#"!# "$ #" " " "! " #" $#" " " " $# "$ #" $#"!# "$ #" " " $" "$ $" "$ # " " # " ## " "!# " #" " " # " " # " ## " "!# " #" " " "$ #" " # "$ #"!## "!# # " " " #" $ " " # "Isn’t "$ #" " # "$ #"!## "!# # " " " #" $ " " # "Isn’t it time you switched to a fairer fairer home loan?
INTEREST INTEREST S SAVED AV VED O OVER VER THE L AST 10 LAST 0 YEARS*
With ME Bank’ Bank’s s SMHL Standar Standard d V a ariable Loan. Variable
! #" "# ! #" "# ! ! #" # " " " #" # " " " " # !# " # !#
ANZ
Standarrd V Standard Variable a ariable Rate Loan" # " # Home Loan
" " " " " " " "
W Westpac estpac
Rocket Repay Home Loan Loan" # " #
" " " " " " " "
NAB
Tailored T a ailorre ed V Variable ariable a Rate Loan" # " # Home Loan
" " " " " " " "
CommBank
Variable a Rate Home Loan" # "
" " " "
$22,798 $24,005 $21,999 $22,814
" # $# " " # # "!# # " " # !# # "!# # " " # !# " # $# " " #
SWITCH S W WITCH T TODAY. OD DAY.
CALL C A ALL ANITA ANIT TA SHARMA, SHARMA, BUSINESS BUSINESS DEVEL DEVELOPMENT OPMENT MANA MANAGER GER 0438 002 675 675 OR VISIT MEBANK MEBANK.COM.AU/HOMELOANS .COM.AU/HOMELOANS
MERCHANDISE ORDER FORM
*Data: Super Members Home Loan (SMHL) Standard VVariable ariable Home Loan is aavailable vailable to eligible super fund and union members. A list of eligible super funds and unions can be found at at mebank.com.au *Data: InfoChoice. Savings Savings calculated calculated on a 300 year, yearr, $300,000 principal and interest home loan after 10 years (01/02/03 – 01/02/13) on the ME Bank SMHL Standard Variable Variable Rate Rate versus the standard variable ted home loan ra rates tes of ANZ, CBA, NAB and W Westpac. rate. te. Interest calcula calculated estpac. Assumes the same monthly repayment is made to each loan, based on the minimum repayment of the loan with the higher interest ra daily and applied applied monthly. monthly. Graph Graph and calculations that may carry carry different interest calculations do not include include applicable applicable fees, charges or discounts and do not consider other home loan products from these lenders that 212122/0313 rates. conditions, fees and charges aapply. pply. AApplications pplications are subject to credit aapproval. pproval. Members Equity Bank Pty Ltd ABN 56 070 887 679 Australian Credit Licence 229500. ra tes. Terms, Terms, e
NSWNMA Navy vy Polo Shirt w with embroidered logo Size: Ladies Size 14 (to ďŹ t sizes 8-10)
Ladies Size 16 Q NSWNMA Navy vy Canvas Duf Dufe Bag (to ďŹ t sizes 12-14)
Please include postage handling of $5 per order ostage and han Total cost of order $ Name Address Ph (H)
(W)
Method of payment
Visa Chequ
Name of card holder Card number Expiry date
/
Signatu
To order, fax the order form to Gle Glen Ginty, (02) 9662 1414 or post to: NSWNMA, 50 O’Dea A Avenue, v Waterloo NSW 2017 Merchandise order forms also avai available on www.nswnma.asn.au 40 | THE LAMP APRIL 2013
NSWNMA Navy Canvas Duffle Bag
$25
Large main zippered compartment; cotton webbing heavy duty double carry handles, removable adjustable shoulder strap, 1 side end slip pocket.
NSWNMA Navy Polo Shirt with embroidered logo
$20
AAvailable vailable in Ladies size 14 (to ďŹ t sizes 8-10) and 16 (to ďŹ t sizes 12-14); and Unisex sizes S, M, L, XL, XXL
test your
knowledge 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9 10 11 12
13 14 16
15
17
18
19 20 22
21
23 24
26
25
27 28
29
30
31
Across 1. Feathered 9. Tongue-shaped 10. Relating to the eye 11. Pertaining to the ileum and cĂŚcum 12. Suturing of one layer of tissue above or under another to gain strength 14. Small angular cavities or pits, such as tooth sockets 15. The force encountered in shortening 17. Surgical construction of an artificial excretory opening from the urinary tract
32
19. Reduced in strength; thin; weak 20. The ability to make logical decisions and decide whether an action is right or wrong 22. Advanced in age 24. Anonyma 26. In poor physical condition; weak or exhausted 28. Relating to the talus and the bones of the leg 31. A disability that hinders effective function 32. An abnormal accumulation of fluid in the abdomen
Down 1. An instrument for graphically recording the heart sounds 2. The egg of a louse 3. Anything that increases rapidity of action or function 4. Condylar joint (9.5) 5. A passage leading into a cavity 6. Pertaining to or adjacent to the cheek 7. Veins that carry blood to an organ (8.4) 8. To distribute and suspend small globules of fat in water
13. Outer, external 16. Relating to the first part of the small intestine 18. Otoacoustic emission (1.1.1) 21. To analyse by titration 23. The main, calcareous part of a tooth 25. The free slime of the mucous membrane 27. Combining form denoting bone 29. Adenosine triphosphate (1.1.1) 30. Prefix meaning one, single
THE LAMP APRIL 2013 | 41
NURSES AND MIDWIVES IT’S IMPORT IMPORTANT ORT TANT A TO TO NOTE NOTE You Y ou o must be a
FINANCIAL MEMBER of the NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association to ensure your entitlement to
2 2 2
ALL ASSOCIATION ASSOCIAATTION SERV SERVICES ACCIDENT JOURNEY INSURANCE PROFESSIONAL INDEMNITY INSURANCE
All these services are only available to members who are financial members. Make sure your membership remains financial by switching from payroll deductions to Direct Debit.
UNSURE IF YOU ARE FINANCIAL? It’ It’ss easy! Ring and check today on 8595 1234 (metro) or 1300 367 962 (rural). Download, complete and return your Direct Debit form to the Association.
www.nswnma.asn.au www ww w.nswnma.asn.au .nswnma.a .
Authorised by B.Holmes, General Secretary, NSWNMA SW
BOOKS
BOOK ME SPECIAL INTEREST
Leadership 101 : Psych 101 Series
Michael D. Mumford j Springer Publishing j www.springer.com j RRP $25.00 j ISBN 9780826111340 Leadership 101 will be of particular interest to the novice leadership scholars or for those seeking a summary of the current status of the field. The book provides a “road map” for individuals to continue on to a more in-depth study of the field. Information is presented from both a psychological and business perspective and research on relevant leadership topics is used to help the reader separate fact from fiction and assumptions from empirical evidence.
Principles of Trauma Therapy: A Guide to Symptoms, Evaluation, and Treatment (2nd ed.) Gallipoli: An Australian Medical Perspective (Australian Army Combat Support Series – 1)
Michael Tyquin Big Sky Publishing j www.bigskypublishing.com.au j RRP $19.99 j ISBN 9781921941863 This book was written to fill a perceived lack of documentation and analysis of the other aspects of our military history that were not specifically related to a battle or campaign, or that approaches the elements of military service or explores military material in support of operations.
John N. Briere and Catherine Scott j SAGE Publications (available through Footprint Books) j www.footprint.com.au j RRP $79.00 j ISBN 9781412981439 Principles of Trauma Therapy: A Guide to Symptoms, Evaluation, and Treatment can be used as a hands-on guide for clinicians, trainees in psychology, psychiatry, and social work, who need information on the actual practice of effective trauma-focused therapy. It has been designed to be useful for clinicians working with clients who suffer from straightforward symptoms (due to a one-time adult trauma) and for those treating clients with more complex presentations, including effects of extensive childhood maltreatment.
Fundamentals of Nursing (4th ed.)
Jackie Crisp, Catherine Taylor, Clint Douglas and Geraldine Rebeiro j Mosby Australia (available through Elsevier Australia) j www.elsevierhealth.com.au j RRP $139.46 j ISBN 9780729541107 The fourth edition of Fundamentals of Nursing maintains its core function of providing the next generation of nurses with crucial knowledge and skills related to the profession and associated practices. There are clinical examples and critical thinking questions throughout the text to highlight how to put nursing knowledge and skills into practice and where it can make a difference between patient recovery and costly life-threatening complications, functional decline and disability.
Fundamentals of Nursing: Clinical Skills Workbook (2nd ed.) First Time Father: The Essential Guide for the New Dad (2nd ed.) Graeme Russell and Tony White Finch Publishing j www.finch.com.au j RRP $29.99 j ISBN 9781921462030
First Time Father: the Essential Guide for the New Dad discusses a diversity of fatherhood perspectives, in terms of age, family context, aspirations and personal resources. The focus is on several key themes of being a father, such as celebrate, affirm, reflect, share and learn. All of which are designed to give the reader a more rewarding experience.
Geraldine Rebeiro, Leanne Jack, Natashia Skully and Damian Wilson j Mosby Australia (available through Elsevier Australia) j www.elsevierhealth.com.au j RRP $68.18 j ISBN 9780729541169 This updated second edition of Fundamentals of Nursing: Clinical Skills Workbook has been revised to align with the updated skills in the fourth edition of Potter and Perry’s Fundamentals of Nursing. Checklists cover health assessment and physical examination, vital signs, skin integrity and wound care, electrolyte and acid-based balance and pain management. The structure of the workbook is simple and includes a concise overview of each skill set, so students can work through and master the skills necessary to become a competent, qualified nurse.
All books can be ordered through the publisher or your local bookshop. NSWNMA members can borrow the books featured here, and many more, from our Records and Information Centre (RIC). Contact Jeannette Bromfield gensec@nswnma.asn.au or Cathy Matias 8595 2121 cmatias@nswnma.asn.au. All reviews by NSWNMA RIC Coordinator/Librarian Jeannette Bromfield. Some books are reviewed using information supplied and have not been independently reviewed. THE LAMP APRIL 2013 | 43
AGED CARE NURSING SCHOLARSHIPS
An Australian Government initiative supporting nurses and midwives. ACN, Australia’s professional organisation for all nurses is proud to work with the Department of Health and Ageing as the fund administrator of this program.
Applications close 26 April 2013 AGED CARE NURSING SCHOLARSHIPS HIPS ARE A AVAILABLE VAILABLE A FOR: Continuing professional development > What CPD activities will you be doing in 2013?
> Is there a conference, short course or workshop you are interested in attending?
Nurse re-entry
DEVELOP DEVELOP AND SHAPE Y YOUR OUR AGED CARE CAREER
> Are you an enrolled or registered nurse whose Australian nursing registration has lapsed?
> Are you intending to undertake nurse re-entry studies? ould you like to re-enter the nursing >W Would profession with a focus on aged care?
freecall 1800 116 696 scholarships@acn.edu.au www.acn.edu.au www .acn.edu.au Aged Care Nursing Scholarships (ACNS) are funded by the Australian Government. ACN, Australia’s professional organisation for all nurses, is proud to work with the Department of Health and Ageing as the fund administrator for this program.
e m i t p f u o r b s 2 u ’ r 01 tI o sc 3! t
Order your NSWNMA campaign scrub uniforms for conference and rally times, and make an impression!
SCRUB TOP
Over the past few months, NSWNMA and Total Image Group have been working together to create a new fit for purpose scrubs range. The new campaign uniform range endorses a modern appearance and offers both comfort and durable features, while still embracing NSWNMA image.
Sizes range from XS-5XL to ensure various body shapes and sizes are catered. Most importantly, the range has been designed to ensure a comfortable fit every time.
Size (cm)
XS
S
M
L
XL
2XL
3XL
4XL
5XL
Half Chest Circumference
53
56
59
62
66
69
73
77
81
Half Hem Circumference
54
74
78
82
General Guide for Female 8/10 SCRUB PANTS PA ANTS
The new range consists of a Unisex Scrub Top and Unisex Classic Pant. Both made from 65% polyester, 35% cotton. This fabric blend is durable and of superior quality. The scrub campaign uniform also has number of functional features, including jet pockets, pen partition, drawstring front on pants and brushed fabric coating for added comfort.
57
60
63
67
70
10/12
12/14
14/16
16/18
18/20
20/22 22/24 24/26
33
37
40.5
43.5
46.5
50.5
54.5
58.5
Half Waist (Relaxed)
29
Half Waist (Stretched)
47
51
55
58.5
61.5
64.5
68.5
72.5
76.5
Half Hip
55
59
63
66
69
72
76
80
84
Out Seam Length
103
105
107
109
111
112
113
114
115
Scrub top and pant are $20 each incl GST. You can place your order by the following methods: 2
Shop online, online, by registering as a user on www.totalimagegrouponline.com/nswnurses on our tailored NSWNMA online store. 2 Browse through the customised catalogue, catalogue complete the order form and send back to Total Image by: email sales@totalimagegroup.com.au Fax: 9569 6200 or Post PO Box 199, Westgate NSW 2048 Total Image accepts credit card payment by Visa, MasterCard, and AMEX (3.5% surcharge on AMEX) or cheque/money order. Delivery by Australia Post within 10-14 working days and charged at $5 incl GST.
For more information please contact TTotal otal Image on (02) 9569 6233 or email uniforms@totalimagegroup.com.au
Choose HIP for super benefits
• Industry perr fund Industry super service • Personal ser vice History strong • Hist ory of str ong rreturns* eturns* Automatic • Aut omatic Death and TPD cover protection • Competitive income pr otection insurance through BestDoctors • Access leading medical specialists thr ough BestDoct ors® • Discount Discounted ed financial planning advice
Visit hipsuper hipsuper.com.au .com.au Call 1 1300 300 654 099
Health Industry Plan
information Industryy Plan contains general advice only only.. It is not specific tto This inf ormation from from Health Industr o your personal financial situation, objectives or needs. Please read read the PDS available available from from www.hipsuper.com.au www.hipsuper.com.au or talk to to a financial advisor before before making any super decisions. The Trustee 247 is Private Private Hospitals Superannuation Pty Trustee of HIP P ABN 50 030 598 598 247 Pty Ltd Ltd ABN 59 59 006 792 792 749, 749, AFSL AFSL L 247063. 247063. Registered Registered address: address: Level Level 5, 477 477 Pitt Street, Street, Sydney Sydney NSW performance indicator future HIP34279 2000. * Past per formance is not a rreliable eliable indicat or of futur e performance. performance. HIP34 279
NSW NURSES AND MIDWIVES’ ASSOCIATION, 50 O’DEA AVENUE WATERLOO COCKTAIL PARTY FILM FESTIVAL
www.nswnma.asn.au gginty@nswnma.asn.au
Proudly sponsored by THE LAMP APRIL 2013 | 47
MOVIES
movies of the month HAUTE CUISINE
TICKETGIVEAWAY The Lamp has 20 in-season double passes to give away to Haute Cuisine thanks to Transmission Films. The first 20 members to email their name, membership number, address and telephone number to lamp@nswnma.asn.au will win.
NO
This film, based on a true story, is fabulous from entree to dessert, writes Sue Miles.
This inspirational true story is set in Chile in 1988, writes Sue Miles.
The story begins on an Antarctic Island, where the new chef has just arrived at a French research station. The outgoing chef has an extraordinary tale to tell; she was once President Francois Mitterand's private chef. And so the story rewinds to the past where chef Hortense Laborie (Catherine Frot), locally renowned in the Perigord region, is astonished when President Mitterrand summons her to the Elysée Palace in Paris to be his private cook. He wants her to produce the food of his childhood, prepared with honesty and simplicity. Hortense’s uncomplicated style of French cooking reminds the ageing president of the meals his mother used to make. Hiring Hortense upsets the Elysée’s head chef, especially as this is the first time a woman has cooked in the palace. A power play ensues, with Hortense trying to hold her ground while looking for a way out. Director Christian Vincent says he first learned about Daniele Delpeuch, the real chef who did work for Mitterrand, after co-writer Etienne Comar read about her in a newspaper. Haute Cuisine celebrates everything that is loved about France: its cuisine, its traditions, and its cinematography. The film was deservedly chosen to open the Sydney French Film Festival and will leave you wanting Moët and truffles on your departure. I loved the story, the scenery, the pomp and ceremony and will have to wait for a copy of the book to try out the amazing recipes.
After 15 years of heading Chile’s military dictatorship, and under intense international pressure, General Augusto Pinochet decides to let the public vote in a national plebiscite on whether he should stay in power. Opposition leaders persuade brash young advertising executive Rene Saavedra (Gael Garcia Bernal) to lead their advertising campaign, while his boss is employed to run the “yes” campaign. The campaign consists of 27 nights of television advertisements, in which each side has 15 minutes to present their point of view, although not exactly in prime time viewing hours. Rene's team have scant resources and are under constant scrutiny by the despot’s watchmen, yet they still manage to devise an ambitious and clever campaign that capture’s the imagination of the Chilean people. Filmmaker Pablo Larraín was Oscar nominated for this film, which cleverly incorporates actual footage of the time. Like the film footage, the soundtrack has a vinyl evident crackle, to keep it authentic. This film captures a monumental time and the journey it takes the viewer on is one worth travelling.
IN CINEMAS MAY 16.
IN CINEMAS APRIL 18.
Sue Miles is a Mental Health Nurse at the RPA.
Welcome to NSW Starz Nurses Agency, one of the leading registered nursing agencies in Sydney, Illawarra, South coast, Southern Highlands and many other parts of Australia. We specialise in providing professional nursing staff to Aged Care facilities, public and private hospitals,Insurance providers, rehabilitation facilities and Community care. We offer a vast variety of positions for nursing staff either contract, permanent or casual work. For all your staff requirements contact us. Wollongong Office Phone: 02 4228 6056 Mobile: 0488 555 3586 PO Box 140 Greenacre NSW 2190 www.nswstarznurses.com.au
48 | THE LAMP APRIL 2013
THE HUNT
This film examines the panic and hysteria that follows an accusation of child abuse, writes Stephanie Gray.
the Lamp has 15 in-season double passes to give away to No thanks to Rialto Distribution. The first 15 members to email their name, membership number, address and telephone number to lamp@nswnma.asn.au will win.
IN CINEMAS MAY 2. Stephanie Gray is an RN with the Australian Red Cross Blood Services
Rafflee 2013 Raffl
TICKETGIVEAWAY The Lamp has 20 in-season double passes to give away to The Hunt thanks to Transmission Films. The first 20 members to email their name, membership number, address and telephone number to lamp@nswnma.asn.au will win.
DVDGIVEAWAY
TICKETGIVEAWAY
Set in idyllic rural Denmark, in a small, tight-knit, lower middle-class community, the central character is Lucas (Mads Mikkelsen), who is going cheerfully about his temporary job, teaching in a small nursery school, after losing his regular teaching job due to economic measures. He is fighting a bitter battle with his ex-wife over the custody of their teenage son, but things begin to look brighter when he meets a woman from an Eastern Block country, working in Denmark as a domestic. Then a little girl, Klara (Annika Wedderkopp), daughter of Lucas’ best friend, misconstrues Lucas’ refusal of a gift. She seeks revenge by putting together random and persuasive clues, snatched from the air, and accuses Lucas of exposing himself to her. First slowly, then rapidly, Lucas is buried in an avalanche of suspicion; the very weight of which turns accusation into conviction and transforms the victim’s existing doubts into paranoia. Lucas, the decent man marginalised by social change, is transformed into an object, a threat to the community, someone to be ganged up against, a dangerous figure that helps those around him discover a new sense of angry unity. This is a powerful movie, not be missed.
To celebrate the DVD release of the film 2 Days in New York, we have 10 DVDs to giveaway, thanks to Hopscotch Films. For your chance to win write your name, address and membership number on the back of an envelope and send to: 2 Days in New York DVD Competition, 50 O’Dea Ave Waterloo NSW 2017 ONLY ONE ENTRY PER MEMBER WILL BE ACCEPTED.
Union Aid Abroad APHEDA
The overseas humanitarian aid agency of the ACTU
SUPPORT GLOBAL SOLIDARITY
Great prizes. Order your tickets today!
20 tickets in a book - $2 per ticket 1st PRIZE $8,000 TRAVEL VOUCH VOUCHER To order freecall 1800 888 674 2nd PRIZE $1,399 COMMUTER BIKE GREAT BOOK SELLERS’ PRIZES Exclusive book seller’s draw for a second bike (Sell 3 books to qualify) Top book seller wins a $1,000 travel voucher. details at CLOSES MA MAYY 24. DRAWN DRAWN JUNE 6. Raffle apheda.org.au
Proudly sponsored by:
BANK FAIRER. THE LAMP APRIL 2013 | 49
DIARY DATES
conferences, seminars, meetings NSW 2nd International Natural Health Summit 3-5 May, Rosehill Racecourse www.atmssummit.com.au Aged and Community Services Association State Conference 7-8 May, Rosehill www.agedservices.asn.au Australian College of Mental Health Nurses’ Hunter Mental Health Conference. Rules of engagementfrom risk to recovery 10 May, Noah’s on the Beach, Newcastle Elizabeth.Moore@hnehealth.nsw.gov.au 7th Australian Women’s Health Conference 7-10 May, Sofitel Sydney Wentworth www.womenshealth2013.org.au info@womenshealth2013.org.au (02) 9254 5000 North Coast Nurse Practitioner Education Day Liver disease can happen to anyone 16-17 May, Ballina RSL Australian Dermatology Nurses’ Association (ADNA) 12th National Conference 18-19 May SMC Conference Centre, Sydney wired.ivvy.com/event/NC2013/ Blacktown Mount Druitt Nursing/Midwifery Research festival 22 May , Blacktown RSL Caroline O’Donnell 0422 006 786 Caroline.O’Donnell@swahs.health. nsw.gov.au 5th Annual NSW Health and Ambulance Darts Tournament 26 May, 9am Revesby Workers Club PauI.Sillato@swsahs.nsw.gov.au 0424 705 778 Australian College of Nursing and Health Expo 23 June, Sydney Town Hall www.acn.edu.au 13th Rural Critical Care Conference 23-24 August , Albury www.ruralcriticalcare.asn.au Enrolled Nurses Professional Association of NSW Annual Conference 19-20 September Mercure Hotel, Sydney Members $310, non-members $340 1300 554 249 rjroseby@gmail.com
Australian Nursing and Midwifery Conference 17-18 October Newcastle Amy McIntosh 0423 497 038 www.nursingmidwiferyconference.com.au 2013 Transplant Nurses’ Association Conference 24-25 October Sydney www.gemsevents.com.au/tna2013/
ACT 12th Australian Palliative Care Conference 3-6 September National Convention Centre, Canberra www.dcconferences.com.au/apcc2013/
INTERSTATE 12th National Rural Health Conference 7-10 April, Adelaide Convention Centre http://nrha.org.au/12nrhc/program/ 8th International Herbal Medicine Conference 12-14 April, Sebel Albert Park, Melbourne www.nhaa.org.au/ Infant GORD and its Complications 20 April 2013 Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre www.reflux.org.au/conference/ risaconference@ymail.com International Council of Nurses 25th Quadrennial Congress 18-23 May, Melbourne www.icn2013.ch/ Australian No 2 Bullying Conference 22-24 May, Outrigger, Surfers Paradise www.no2bullying.org.au Cancer Nurses Society of Australia 16th Winter Congress 25-27 July, Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre www.csnawintercongress.com.au 14th International Mental Health Conference 2013 5-6 August Outrigger, Surfers Paradise anzmh.asn.au/conference 9th Australasian Nursing & Allied Health Stroke Conference 22-23 August Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre Stephanie Rogers smartstrokes@theassociationspecialists. com.au www.smartstrokes.com.au
Crossword solution P H O N O C A R D I O G R A P H
E N N A T I C P T I C A E V E R L A C E F T E R L A A I L U T E O L D E R E U N D O W T S I S A N D I C
A I B I N G U I F C F L L E O C A E A R T A L V E N A D U R O S T A V O U D G E M E I E N N O M I N U A A L O C R U U N T A P A S C I
E L L I P S O I D J O I N T
50 | THE LAMP APRIL 2013
O R C A O L O M
E M U L S I F Y
N T I A T E R R A L T T E S
Australian College of Midwives 18th Biennial Conference 30 September-3 October Hobart www.acm2013.com 5th Australian Rural & Remote Mental Health Symposium 14-16 October Mercure Hotel, Geelong (07) 5502 2068 ruralhealth@anzmh.asn.au anzmh.asn.au/rrmh/
OVERSEAS Creating Healthy Work Environments 12-14 April Indianapolis, USA Honor Society of Nursing www.nursingsociety.org/STTIEvents/ 2013 World Congress for Psychiatric Nurses 2-4 May Winnipeg, Canada http://worldcongress.rpnc.ca/ 24th International Nursing Research Congress 22-26 July Prague, Czech Republic www.nursingsociety.org/STTIEvents/Res earchCongress/ 2nd World Congress of Clinical Safety 12-13 September Heidelberg, Germany www.iarmm.org 8th European Congress on Violence in Clinical Psychiatry 23-26 October Ghent, Belgium www.oudconsultancy.nl/GhentSite/
REUNIONS Royal Melbourne Hospital (January 1973 PTS) 6 April Claire Jenkins (Furlong) 0420 810 544 jenkin.claire@gmail.com Crown St Women’s Hospital Sydney, September 1981 6-7 April Kristine Smith 0428 523661 kristinedobell@gmail.com NSWIT 25-year reunion: The guinea pig year! 11 May, 6pm Aerial Function Centre, Ultimo NSW 2007 Karen Wetsteyn troykaren@tpg.com.au Facebook group NSWIT nurses 1985-1987 Karitane reunion/90th anniversary. 17 May, 5-7pm Government House, Sydney Maha Sedhom 0297942383 Enquirieskcfc@sswahs.nsw.gov.au May 1976 Blacktown District Hospital Reunion 25 May, 6pm Lily’s Restaurant, Seven Hills Karen Walker or Diane Shinnick on Facebook karen.walker01@optusnet.com.au Western Suburbs Hospital Graduate Nurses Reunion 25 May, midday Ryde-Eastwood Leagues Club Robyn Daniel 9644 9692 Robyn Conliffe 9858 1102 Mary Potter Nursing Home Wagga All staff 1985 -2010 22 June 2013 Fay 02 6933 1159 fay.martin@yahoo.com.au RPA June1983 30-year reunion 29 June, 6pm Ridges, Camperdown Cathy Robinson (nee Mccrudden) 02 4234 2778 or 0432 381703 Mater Graduate Nurses Association annual reunion 20 October Mary McKillop Place North Sydney Joan Stort 0401 344 363
ausmed.com.au/listen
NISSAN & KIA
WE’VE GOT YOU COVERED! TAKE YOUR PICK!
ARE YOU A CITY DRIVER?
AR E YOU ADV E N TU ROU S? DO YOU PREFER LUXURY?
maybe, you’re a little sporty? OR, DO YOU NEED THE EXTRA ROOM? Offers end 30.4.13. DL20309. 1594-FP
NISSAN & KIA 02 8884 4477 | 37 Blacktown Road | Blacktown www.landernissan.com.au
www.landerkia.com.au
ONLY 4 MINS FROM PROSPECT HWY TURN OFF ON THE M4