Nurses are ready. The evidence is clear. And the need has never been greater.
Today, we celebrate nurses who work where health really begins.
I didn’t become a nurse 43 years ago because I loved hospitals. I became a nurse because I wanted to keep people well — and, wherever possible, out of them.
Early in my career, working in emergency departments in the US, I saw what happens when care arrives too late; when illness has already taken hold; when lives are interrupted, families are disrupted, and the system steps in at the point of crisis.
But most illness doesn’t start in hospitals. It starts quietly — in homes, in workplaces, in communities. And that’s where primary health care nurses work.
Primary health care nurses are there before things unravel. Before a condition escalates. Before a preventable admission. Before someone’s world becomes smaller because their health has failed them.
Keeping people well doesn’t always look dramatic. There are no sirens. No spotlights.
It looks like a conversation that catches something early; a vaccination that prevents an illness no one will ever see; a care plan that helps someone stay independent, connected, and confident in their own community.
It looks like nurses coordinating care, supporting families, managing chronic and complex conditions, and seeing the whole person — not just the presenting problem.
And here’s the truth: the better primary health care nurses do our job, the less visible it becomes.
Because success looks like nothing happening. No crisis. No hospital admission. No preventable harm.
But make no mistake — that “nothing” takes skill, judgement, leadership, and deep clinical expertise.
On Primary Health Care Nurses Day on 4 February we celebrated the nurses who play the long game. The nurses who keep people well, connected, and living their lives — not just surviving illness. Primary health care nurses are essential to strong communities and a sustainable health system.
We say thank you. And we remind the system: If you want people to stay well, invest in the nurses who make it possible.
Primary health care nurses work everywhere people work and live their lives. Often, we are the first point of contact with the health system — and sometimes the only one.
That’s why celebrating primary health care nurses matters. It is also about recognising what we are not yet being allowed to do.
APNA’s latest workforce survey shows that 30% of primary health care nurses cannot work to their full scope of practice. That is a huge missed opportunity.
At a time of workforce shortages, rising demand, and an ageing population, we have skilled nurses ready to do more — and a system that is holding them back.
The consequences are real. Nurses who are able to work to their full scope are far more likely to stay in the profession. Those who aren’t are more likely to leave.
This isn’t just a workforce issue. It’s a patient access issue. And it’s a system sustainability issue.
Related
We know that nurse-led and nurse-coordinated models work. We’ve seen them improve access, continuity of care, and patient outcomes— including right here in the ACT and across Australia.
Government has taken important steps. Designated nurse prescribing is a positive and long-awaited reform. But we need to go further.
If we want a health system that keeps people well and out of hospital, we must fully enable the largest workforce in primary health care.
We ask you to work with us:
- to remove outdated barriers;
- to fund models that reflect how care is actually delivered; and
- to unlock the full contribution of primary health care nurses.
Nurses are ready. The evidence is clear. And the need has never been greater.
Denise Lyons is a practising nurse practitioner with Ochre Health and the Hunter New England LHD, and is president of the Australian Primary Care Nurses Association.
This article is an adaptation of the speech Ms Lyons gave at Parliament House, Canberra on Primary Health Care Nurses Day, 4 February 2026. Read the original speech here.
