President of the Australian College of Nurse Practitioners Leane Boase has said moving nurse practitioners from Pambula Hospital to the South East Regional Hospital (SERH) was "not a good outcome for the community".
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
"A nurse practitioner is not an RN (registered nurse) plus a few prescriptions and referrals. A nurse practitioner has a lot of additional practise and training and so they can go further to diagnose and treat a patient," Ms Boase said.
She said a change to the system may result in people not being able to receive treatment in the southern part of the shire.
"Higher level cases would be going to SERH anyway but if they presented to Pambula to a nurse practitioner they would be going with early intervention and assessment," Ms Boase said.
She believes that removing nurse practitioners from a site impacts GPs particularly in a rural and regional setting.
"The increase in numbers trying to see a GP, especially when a lot of tourists are around, can be huge. When there's pressure on clinics it will send people driving to the ED."
Denise Dion
Regional daily news journalist on the Far South Coast of NSW. Contact me on 0418 213 780 or at denise.dion@austcommunitymedia.com.au
Regional daily news journalist on the Far South Coast of NSW. Contact me on 0418 213 780 or at denise.dion@austcommunitymedia.com.au
