THE Australian College of Nursing (ACN) is urging the Federal Government to give nurses a greater role in vaccination to help address declining coverage amid record-high influenza rates and the circulation of vaccine-preventable diseases.
The peak body is calling for the establishment of a Nurse Payment Administrator to manage payments to nurses for administering vaccines in community settings outside of the MBS system, along similar lines to the Pharmacy Programs Administrator.
This will see nurses, including self-employed nurses, receive the same payments pharmacists get for delivering vaccines, and pharmacies that employ nurses will be remunerated accordingly.
ACN CEO Adjunct Professor Kathryn Zeitz said there are many reasons why vaccination rates are sliding, and it is important to make it as easy as possible for people to get their shots "for their own health and for others".
"Nurses deliver more vaccines than any other healthcare professional, yet most of that work is unfunded and happens inside GP clinics," Professor Zeitz said.
The ACN is urging the Federal Government to also support nurses in running community-based clinics - in libraries, youth centres, and high-traffic locations such as childcare centres - as well as seniors centres, Men's Sheds and bowling clubs to provide increased access to seniors.
"Pharmacists are doing their fair share with pharmacy-delivered vaccinations, which is really fantastic to see," ACN chief nursing officer Frances Rice told Pharmacy Daily.
"But we think if we can fund nurses in a different way, then we will be able to reach some of those vulnerable populations, maybe offer appointments outside of standard hours for parents needing access to get their kids caught up, or to get some of those seniors who we know are part of a growing group of undervaccinated people as well."
Rice said that nurse vaccination services are needed everywhere, but particularly in rural and remote locations where access to healthcare is already challenged by workforce shortages.
"We need to think differently about how we provide vaccinations in those in those settings," she said.
"We know that then nurses working in those locations can do education and help people with their vaccine hesitancy, but also increase that access." KB
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