International Nurses Day 2008

Delivering quality, serving communities:  Nurses leading primary healthcare.

Nursing Practice is the very essence of primary health care - nursing education, experience and the settings where nurses≠ work equips us like no other.  Nurses can deliver care wherever people are found; homes, schools, workplaces, general practices, wellness clinics and beyond.  Nurses are also critical to the training and supervision of other personnel and to the planning, organization, monitoring and evaluation of Primary Health Care services.

On International Nurses Day 2008 - we celebrate the skill, commitment, innovation and dedication of all nurses, with particular focus this year on Nurses in Primary Health Care.  On the ground, every day - Nelson Bays Primary Health recognises the efforts and celebrates the collective achievements nurses have made. We applaud how they strive with our community to continually focus on achieving the core principles of primary health care - universal accessibility, community participation, intersectoral collaboration and appropriate use of technology.

What does it mean to have nurses leading Primary Health Care?

 Improved access to care.

One of the quickest and most efficient ways to scale up health care coverage is at the community level through "close to client" services. Nurses are ideally placed to facilitate this happening. In our own region, Primary Health Care Nurses are currently looking at what nursing models would suit our area in order to address health inequalities and access issues. These are exciting times for Primary Health Care Nurses as they explore the possibilities of extending their roles and achieving greater outcomes for the local population. There are many examples that demonstrate how nurses have risen to the challenge of providing improved access to care:

• BeWell Nurses in Golden Bay and Victory
• Reduced fees at General Practice, facilitating better access for low income and socially disadvantaged families to Practice Nurses and the advent of the after-hours clinic.
• Home visiting done by Tamariki Ora and Whanau Ora providers.
• Excellent inroads being made into the provision of health services to Maori and Pacific Island communities through Registered Nurses working at Te Kahui Hauora o Ngati Koata, Te Korowai Trust, Te Awhina Marae, Whakatu Marae, Te Amo Health, Plunket, Ngati Rarua and Te Rapuora o te Waiharakeke.
• Nurses working in Aged Care
• Independent Nursing Practice and the work they have done in the fields of Women≠s health, sexual health and youth.
• Access for students to a Registered Nurse during the day at Nelson Girls College, Nelson Boys College, Salisbury School and NMIT
• Occupational Health Nurses

  Improved prevention of chronic diseases.

• Healthy Lifestyles Clinics run by Practice Nurses
• Opportunistic screening of priority populations
• Links with other organizations to ensure a holistic approach is taken, i.e. referrals to Green Prescriptions and Way to Go.

  Improved surveillance.

• Cardiovascular risk assessments
• Well Child Checks
• Diabetes management
• Oral Health
• Cervical Screening and Sexual Health
• Vision and Hearing
• Mental Health

 Improved patient compliance with care

Poor compliance or adherence with therapies is a direct cause of poor health outcomes and nursing can strongly impact on this. Nurses have the experience and training to use brief interventions to capitalize on that "opportunistic moment" where clients are open to suggestion and ready to work on lifestyle changes. Counselling on nutrition, medication, physical activity, lifestyle and behavior modification, and a host of other issues are well within the realm and scope of Primary Health Care Nurses.

As emphasis and service delivery moves ever more quickly from hospital to home, curative to preventive, institutions to communities, nurses will be ever more at the centre of health care delivery - the glue that brings continuity to care.  Congratulations to all the nurses of the Nelson Tasman region..