The NSW government is considering whether to remove the current legal requirement for nursing homes to have registered nurses on duty at all times.
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They might do this by the end of 2015. The prospect of nursing homes without registered nurses round the clock is very concerning.
None of us wants to move our spouse, parents or loved ones into aged care, but when we do face that, we need assurance that they are receiving the most qualified, specialist nursing care possible – and that’s the care and oversight given by registered nurses.
It’s registered nurses who can deliver palliative care, monitor the side effects of all the medications most old people are taking, liaise with the GP and do complex wound care.
Without a registered nurse on duty, more aged residents would be sent off to hospital for relatively minor conditions – taking up the time and resources of ambulance crews and hospital staff when they could have stayed home and been treated by an RN. Residents sometimes cannot be given simple Panadol for a headache because staff are not accredited to give medications (mostly after hours).
I hope the NSW government sees sense and keeps the law that says nursing homes need registered nurses 24/7.
- Anne McDonald