Upper house cross-benchers unite to prevent loss of RNs in aged care
THE NSW government may have a fight on its hands to change the 24-hour RN requirement, with upper house cross-benchers apparently united on the need to keep Registered Nurses in aged care.
NSW Labor campaigned on the issue in 2015, and the Christian Democratic Party also supported retaining the 24-hour requirement for Registered Nurses.
Greens' spokesperson on ageing Jan Barham has opposed the government's decision to leave the matter in Commonwealth hands, saying losing the requirement will put older people at risk.
NSW Shooters, Fishers and Farmers MLC Robert Brown said the requirement had been in place for 30 years, and the only reason to change it was to increase profits for private operators.
"My understanding is that Opposition and Crossbench are united in favour of keeping registered nurses in nursing homes," he said.
" It's not often that you see The Greens, the Shooters Fishers and Farmers Party, the Animal Justice Party, Labor and the Christian Democratic Party stand shoulder to shoulder on a single issue.
"Without a registered nurse on duty to administer Schedule 8 medications, pain relief stronger than a Panadol can't be given.
"A registered nurse has the clinical expertise to know when to and when not administer medications, such as not giving blood pressure medications when somebody already has low blood pressure.
"Their high level of training also allows them to respond to critical incidents to prevent unnecessary hospital admissions - an important attribute when 'trolley block' plagues many hospital emergency departments."