The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) (Vic Branch) applauds the Carroll Government's announcement that it will make healthcare a regulated industry, in a move that will compel health services to ensure the safety of nurses, midwives and carers and all healthcare workers.
ANMF has campaigned to make healthcare a regulated industry for several years so that occupational violence and aggression (OVA) in hospitals is taken as seriously as factory accidents in manufacturing or falls in construction. This change would mean we should see hospitals and aged care services make it a priority to protect their staff, because there are stronger laws to prosecute them if they don’t.
"Violence and aggression against nurses, midwives and personal care workers should never be normalised or accepted. Yet we know from our members that occupational violence and aggression remains a significant issue across the healthcare system," said ANMF (Vic Branch) Secretary Maddy Harradence.
“Changing health to a ‘regulated industry’ will bring a responsibility and obligation on employers to understand and address health and safety risks in their healthcare services, including OVA, and make them safe places to work.”
The Carroll Government has also announced $30 million for measures to help keep healthcare workers safe including security upgrades, improved lighting, CCTV and duress alarms.
In a recent member survey 74 per cent of ANMF members reported experiencing OVA in the past 12 months. The psychological and physical harm of OVA is causing some members to withdraw from frontline roles. OVA is a preventable workplace hazard and must not be accepted as an inevitable part of the job as a nurse, midwife or carer. This announcement is part of the systemic approach needed to make sure it stops.
As part of our strong commitment towards safe work and meaningful action on OVA, today the ANMF (Vic Branch) released the OVA Safe Work Audit Tool (OVA SWAT), ANMF's updated plan to end violence and aggression. The OVA SWAT provides a systems-based framework for assessing and strengthening the governance, leadership, work design, workplace and workforce factors that prevent and manage OVA. The tool will support nurses, midwives and carers, and their workplaces, to identify strengths, gaps and opportunities for improvement to create safer environments for healthcare workers, patients, families and visitors.
"ANMF's OVA SWAT is a comprehensive tool our members and everyone working in healthcare can use to identify OVA risks, assess current controls and develop actions to improve the safety of their workplaces," said Ms Harradence.
About us:
The ANMF (Vic Branch) has over 112,000 members – nurses, midwives and aged care personal care workers – across the Victorian health and aged care sectors.
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Media contact: Liz Ascroft 0498 556 231