The ACN has called for the implementation of a more socialised healthcare model.
The Australian College of Nursing has made a call for a “fundamental rethink of Australia’s approach to healthcare in the next term of government”.
The ACN says the system is failing to address key health and wellbeing issues such as poor nutrition, housing and poverty.
A more holistic approach is being suggested as a way to address the growing inequities, with the implementation of a “socialised healthcare model” proposed by the college, to prioritise preventive health.
The ACN says nurses are already delivering socialised care via community-based programs led by nurses.
Benefit for general practice was mentioned in the college’s statement, citing how greater investment in preventive care would reduce pressure on general practice via establishing a more cohesive chain of care.
In alignment with nearly every health body this election cycle, the ACN has also called for greater funding to support the proposal.
However, the main priority of the initiative is to provide more effective support in addressing issues regarding social determinants of health.
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“I’m not sure that we’re really hitting the right or the most optimal funding model in community or primary health care at this point, to adapt to the needs of humans in their varied ways,” Associate Professor Sonia Martin told TMR.
“When socialised models of healthcare have been around for a long time, they haven’t been necessarily well funded in primary health care and community nursing spaces.”
The proposal came after the release of an ACN white paper that outlined the potential benefit of converting more of Australian healthcare to a socialised model.
Prioritisation of nurses in leadership for the model was proposed from the context of nurses forming the largest sector of healthcare and thus argued as the most pivotal players for a potential transition.
However, the proposal would be most effective as a collaborative effort across the entire healthcare workforce, said the college, citing GP concerns with the current system of time-based MBS items.
The ACN also stated their disapproval of current funding models and how said traditional models were limiting the capacity for effective care.
“The existing biomedical healthcare model in Australia puts medicine at the centre of care, rather than people,” said ACN CEO, Professor Kathryn Zeitz.
“Causes of disease are not being addressed promptly, leading to poor health that requires increasing amounts of care, attention, and treatment.”
According to ACN representatives, the current funding model is expected to have a negative collateral impact on general practice due to the need for more nursing support.
“We’re both asking for more time, we need funding, and it’s really sometimes hard for the different groups to articulate,” said Professor Martin.
“I think GPs would benefit because we know that in medical centres, medical practices, that we need more time with humans.
“GP practices need their nurses funded for the time it takes to sit with people.
“It would be advantageous for GPs also to recognise that we do need longer consult times, and you need better billing systems and to recognise that people need time around social determinants of health and how to navigate that.”
