Launch of new codes of ethics and professional conduct for Australian nurses and midwives

Today has seen the launch of new national codes of ethics and professional conduct for nurses and midwives.

The codes are the result of a collaboration between the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Council (ANMC), the Australian College of Midwives (ACM), the Australian Nursing Federation (ANF) and the Royal College of Nursing, Australia (RCNA).

They were reportedly developed after extensive consultation with the public and with input from nurses and midwives across the country in order to provide national, uniform codes of behaviour and codes of practice.

According to Adjunct Associate Professor Moira Laverty, the Deputy Chair of the ANMC, the Rudd Government's ongoing reviews of the health system had highlighted the importance of healthcare regulation.

Professor Laverty says the intention of the codes is to protect healthcare consumers by providing a solid regulatory framework for nurses and midwives which ensures they are competent to practice.

Professor Laverty says the codes of ethics and professional conduct is important to nurses and midwives and who are accountable to the community for providing quality care through safe and effective professional work practices and the wide-ranging public consultation on the codes demonstrates that the nursing profession takes its responsibility to consumers seriously.

The Federal Government says the new national codes of ethics are an important step towards a national nurses register as they set minimum national standards for the work done by nurses and midwives and also provide the public with a basis to evaluate their work.

The Government apparently hopes to have a national nurses register operating by the end of 2010 that will ensure that nurses can move around the country and are able to practice in each state and territory.