The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners has expressed concern over suggested expansions to nurses and midwives’ scope of practice which would see them take on responsibilities that currently sit with GPs.
Nine of Australia’s peak nursing and midwifery groups have called on the major parties at this election to commit to reforms to allow nurses and midwives to provide specialist referrals, prescribe medicines and order diagnostic testing.
RACGP Vice President and WA Chair Dr Ramya Raman voiced concern about the potential impact such changes could have.
“GPs and nurses work best together, within our training and scope, and in close communication to ensure our patients receive continuity of care, that’s the bedrock of good primary care,” she said.
“There are barriers and long wait times to non-GP specialist care, so enabling more referrals doesn’t solve the problem.
“Specialist GPs, as medical practitioners, can take care of a diverse range of conditions and refer only where it is clinically warranted.
“There is fair reason to be concerned increasing direct referral pathways will add to existing the strain in the health system and result in more refused referrals, increasing patient wait times.”
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The peak bodies have said the plan reflects the recommendations of the Unleashing the Potential of our Health Workforce – Scope of Practice Review, which was led by Professor Mark Cormack.
The review contained 18 recommendations including the implementation of new direct referral pathways for access to specified non-GP specialists and the establishment of a primary care workforce development program to support the retention of skilled staff.
“The review identified significant barriers preventing nursing and midwifery professionals from working to their full potential. These barriers must be removed,” they said in a statement.
The alliance said patients and communities, especially those in rural and regional areas, will benefit when they can work to their full scope.
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Dr Raman said the review had created a lot of unnecessary tension between health practitioners.
The nine peak groups who are advocating together for the nursing and midwife-led reforms say they would improve care, reduce waiting times, and deliver better health outcomes.
The AMA has also urged caution in the government’s response to the review, which it said includes several recommendations that would fragment patient care and undermine the key roles of GPs.
However, it is calling for an expansion of the Workforce Incentive Program (WIP) to allow more nurses and allied health professionals to work in general practice.
The WIP supports general practices around the county to employ nurses and allied health professionals as part of a GP-led team to improve access to care for patients.
The AMA has described the WIP as “a proven model” and a success story.
The AMA’s Modernise Medicare campaign is calling for a $401.4 million investment over four years to expand the program.
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