Government and nurses call for a major shake-up of Australia's health system

Plans by the federal government to address the dire shortage of general practitioners by making better use of other health professionals is in some ways in line with calls from the Australian Nursing Federation (ANF) for a major reform to the way health services are funded and delivered.

The government is planning to make more use of nurses, pharmacists, physiotherapists and dieticians by encouraging direct patient access to these allied health professionals, as a way of dealing with the escalating rates of chronic diseases such as heart disease and diabetes associated with an ageing population.

The announcement of the new plans coincides with a submission from the ANF to the National Health and Hospital Reform Commission, calling for major reform to the way health services are funded and delivered.

The ANF wants primary health care services to change from fee for service 'six minute medicine' models to one where salaried health professionals work in multidisciplinary teams to provide comprehensive care, focusing on health promotion and illness prevention.

Nurses want a patient centered system where all health professionals are equitably rewarded. and funds to follow the patient rather than the provider.

Health Minister Nicola Roxon is expected to outline the new plans today at an Australian General Practice Network forum in Sydney.

Ms Roxon says the chronic shortage of GPs affects 74 per cent of Australia and 59 per cent of the population and people wait too long to see a doctor.

The Health Minister says increasing the number of medical graduates will have an impact on alleviating the problem over time but it could not be the only answer and other health professionals, who are often not fully acknowledged in the primary health debate, have a vital role to play in providing health care in the community.

The Australian Medical Association which has fought to maintain the monopoly of GPs in delivering primary health services, is not expected to welcome the initiative.

Ms Roxon says as the population ages, the focus of the health system needs to be on how health professions can work together to deal with the ongoing chronic care needed to control conditions such as heart disease, arthritis and diabetes.

ANF federal secretary Ged Kearney says it is time for governments to acknowledge that nursing is the major health care workforce, and organise the health sector accordingly.

Ms Kearney says nurses are currently under-utilised and under-valued due to outdated structures of funding, archaic professional boundaries and excessive workloads.

At present nurses working in aged care earn on average $20,000 less per annum than nurses working in other sectors making it difficult for the aged care sector to attract suitably qualified staff.

The ANF is calling for a cost benefit analysis of nursing care to be conducted across all sectors.