Let nurse practitioners run urgent care clinics, says Australian College of Nursing
Chief nursing officer Frances Rice says nurse practitioners are already doing the job in other settings.
Nurse practitioners should be allowed to run Medicare urgent care clinics, with similar models showing it would be safe and effective in practice, says the Australian College of Nursing.
The college has called on the Federal Government to revise its “outdated” operational guidance for urgent care clinics (UCCs) and allow nurse practitioners to lead care independently.
Under the current guidance, clinics must be GP led and staffed by a vocationally registered GP, a registered nurse or nurse practitioner and a receptionist or administrator, at a minimum.
However, the ACT’s nurse-led UCCs and some remote clinics are exempt from this model, proving nurse practitioner-led care is “safe and effective”, the college says.
