Nurses have copped the brunt of a political circus with a controversial bill making noise across the state this week.
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Shooters and Fishers MLC Robert Borsak accused Northern Tablelands MP Adam Marshall of running “a fear campaign” against a bill to have registered nurses on duty in nursing homes at all times.
Mr Borsak fired accusations at the MP after a whistleblower reportedly leaked information of “secret briefings” Mr Marshall had been giving to private nursing home operators, “coaching them in a media campaign to oppose the bill”.
But Mr Marshall denied claims, telling Fairfax Media on Monday that he did not support the proposal nor was he aware of the email.
“The bill proposes a blanket requirement over the whole state which means no matter how big the centre is or even if none of the residents need RNs – they will be required to have an RN on 24/7,” Mr Marshall said.
“It’s like mandating that every single hospital in the state must have an orthopedic surgeon even though in many hospitals there’s no orthopedic surgery.”
Mr Marshall said such a requirement would put severe pressure on small facilities which are already struggling with minimal funding.
The bill has also been slammed by Health Minister Brad Hazzard.
“It is the government’s job to make sure our loved ones have the best quality care, tailored to different patient needs and giving providers the flexibility to provide that,” a spokesperson representing the Minister said on Tuesday.
“However, the legislation put forward by the Shooters does not fit or suit the needs of regional communities.”
The spokesperson said the Government “did not vote for the bill in the upper house and went on record with its concerns” and pointed to the words of upper house member and former clinical nurse specialist in palliative care, Bronnie Taylor.
“Good, holistic health care is about a patient-centred approach that includes all professionals who work across the system,” Ms Taylor said.
“The community expects patient-centred care and we cannot achieve that with inflexible legislation reaching out from Macquarie Street and into every aged care facility across our diverse state.”
If the current bill went ahead, it could see many smaller aged care centres, particularly in regional areas close, should they be unable to attract or retain RNs, the spokesperson said.
“That means parents, family members and loved ones being moved into facilities away from their town and their community.”
To make matters worse, the “leaked” email fell into the hands of Sydney radio shock jock Ray Hadley who labelled the Mr Marshall “a waste of space” before calling on the Premier to take action.
“What is the go with Marshall?” he said during his broadcast on Tuesday.
“They [the SFFP] say the requirement … which was inadvertently removed by federal legislation in 2015, is important to ensure seniors can access adequate care.
“The bill was passed in the upper house on Thursday by the government … so the government supports it.
“But I was leaked an email which shows the Minister for Tourism and Major Events, Adam Marshall … briefing a major rural private nursing home operator on how to argue against the bill – a bill supported by his own government.”
But MLC Scot MacDonald backed the MP and said, while the government was happy to support the bill in principle, the opportunity for debate should hopefully find a solution to those potential problems faced by small facilities.
“I fully back Adam Marshall and his approach,” Mr MacDonald said.
“A lot will hinge on the country members getting some clarity.
“The Government was happy enough in principle to see it pass in the upper house – but now those details need to be worked out in the lower house [because] it would be very difficult for those very small communities to lose their aged care homes.”
McLean Care was the aged care operator the leaked email came from, and its CEO Sue Thompson expressed her concerns about the bill when contacted by Fairfax Media.
She said if the legislation were to pass, it would pose a serious threat to the survival of small rural facilities.
“They would be gravely impacted because the funding provided to residential aged care facilities and particularly those in small rural and remote communities is not sufficient for them to afford to have registered nurses on 24 hours a day,” she said.
Ms Thompson told Fairfax Media it was also important to acknowledge where and when registered nurses are needed and, when they are not.
“In some facilities the care needs of those people being looked after do not require a registered nurse for 24 hours a day,” she said.
“The main debate with this is registered nurses have a hugely important role in the care of older people in Australia but it is important that people that require clinical services by clinicians have that service.
“What is not required is for registered nurses to provide personal care such as showering, bathing and so on – there’s a distinct difference.
“Legislation of this nature would deny these smaller providers the flexibility required to appropriately respond to the changing mix of care needs within their service, where at times it may be that more RN hours are needed, and at other times the limited care funding might be more productively spent on additional allied health services or care staff numbers to support their residents.”
Mr Borsak said the bill would be put to the lower house for debate on Thursday – on the eve of International Nurses Day.