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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1)
2018-05-16 Daily Xml
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International Midwives and Nurses Days

Ms COOK (Hurtle Vale) (11:28): I move:

That this house—

(a) recognises International Day of the Midwife held on 5 May annually, with the theme this year being 'Midwives leading the way with quality care';

(b) recognises International Nurses Day held on 12 May annually, with the theme this year being 'Nurses, a voice to lead: health is a human right'; and

(c) thanks all midwives and nurses for the important work that they do in caring for our community.

It is my huge honour to move this motion in front of some of the nursing and midwifery leaders of our great state; some of the great educators, researchers and clinicians; and some of my dear friends and mentors. I acknowledge the presence in the gallery of Adjunct Associate Professor Elizabeth Dabars AM, the state secretary of my union, the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF); Jocelyn Douglass, the president of the ANMF in South Australia; and many branch members and clinicians. I have been a member of the ANMF for 32 years, I believe—that is life membership at most sporting clubs, so I am waiting for it in the post.

I would also like to make special mention of Jennifer Hurley, our new SA Health Chief Nurse and Midwifery Officer. Members may have met Jennifer previously, as she played a big supporting role with us late into the night on the Death with Dignity Bill in her previous role with the ANMF. I congratulate her on her appointment. She will be a great leader for nurses and midwives in South Australia, and I look forward to working with her on professional practice, workforce and progressive issues more broadly.

Farewell and thank you to Lydia Dennett, who showed incredible leadership both here and nationally in her role. We will miss you Lydia. I acknowledge Professor Carol Grech, head of the nursing and midwifery school at the University of South Australia; Professor Mary Steen, the first professor of midwifery here in South Australia and a real trailblazer; midwife Dr Julie Fleet; registered nurse Dr Rebecca Sharp; Professor Marion Eckert, the director of the Rosemary Bryant AO Research Centre; nurse, academic and clinician Dr Kevin O'Shaughnessy; Associate Professor Rachael Vernon; and Dr Angela Brown.

Incredible clinicians are present in the gallery today, many of them—as members can see, we can draw a crowd—from MedSTAR, RDNS, Flinders Medical Centre, the Royal Adelaide Hospital, the Women's and Children's Hospital, Children and Family Health Services, and Northgate Mental Health Services. If I have missed any body in particular, any group, I humbly apologise.

We are nurses and midwives. I am so proud to be a nurse, a nurse in parliament, and I am proud to be a voice for nurses and for midwives in parliament. I understand the challenges of delivering quality health care in a modern healthcare world. I have lived it.

International Day of the Midwife has been celebrated since 1992 as a way of focusing on and celebrating the role of midwives. Each year, a theme provides the motivating call to action to all midwives to get involved, to focus, to celebrate and to champion the great work they do. This year, the theme is 'Midwives leading the way with quality care'. This theme speaks for itself.

Midwives play such a vital role preparing women for pregnancy, ensuring that women and their precious newborns navigate pregnancy and childbirth safely, respectfully and powerfully. They empower the partners of these women. Midwives advocate for and deliver, in practical terms, well-resourced maternal and neonatal care that then sets the baseline for lifelong optimal health and wellbeing well after the childbirth experience. Midwives provide care in the lightest and darkest moments of life. Midwives provide hope, and they are there when hope is lost.

At all times they deliver care of the highest quality. In fact, midwives set the benchmark for professional autonomous practice. I have long admired the clinician-led pathways that midwives deliver and the respect that the medical profession has for those. Midwives have led and implemented discharge planning for many years, and this was at the centre of discussion when we, as a government, targeted efficiencies in nurse-led care in medical and surgical units across Transforming Health. Midwives do indeed lead the way.

We hold International Nurses Day annually on the birthday of Florence Nightingale, the lady with the lamp. She lived a fine innings, passing away at the ripe old age of 90 in 1910. Every year we have a theme, and this year our nurses' theme is 'Nurses, a voice to lead: health is a human right'. There are some incredibly important components of health as a human right but, sadly, I feel that as a modern and civilised society we truly fail on some of these. I refer to some matters of choice relating to sexual health and reproductive rights.

Our community has a right to make these choices free from interference. I hope that during my life as an MP sooner rather than later we are strong enough to remove abortion from the criminal code. It is an absolute disgrace that abortion, as a legal, clinical procedure, is regulated under the Criminal Law Consolidation Act. There are still women and their partners subjected to protests as they seek care and support at one of the most difficult times of their lives. This must change.

Also, far too many South Australians die in hospital. We must advocate for and ensure that palliative care sees that more South Australians have the choice to die with dignity at home in the way they choose. Our entire community has a right to access the best possible affordable care. If affordable is free for that person, then so be it. The principles of health care, in my mind, are accountability, equality, equity, access, patient-centred, safe and timely—just as a starting point. These principles are at the heart of any contribution that I make in this place. These principles must be at the heart of contributions from the leaders in our community.

It is a well-known saying that, 'You can't be what you can't see.' I have heard that more than once recently in this place. I have been able to see great nurse leaders, great midwife leaders here in parliament. For the past three midwife and nurses days—and it could be four actually, just thinking about it—Annabel Digance and I have been able to share the honour of celebrating both International Day of the Midwife and International Nurses Day. We have worked together to host these days and ensured that our colleagues in this place do not forget how important you all are to health and wellbeing in our community.

I would like to thank Annabel for the great work she was able to do in the past four years as the member for Elder. Gayle's Law passed parliament last year—in the name of Gayle Woodford—and because of this single-nurse postings in remote areas will be abolished and call-outs for assistance will require two health practitioners.

I also sat on a select committee on e-cigarettes that was triggered by Annabel. In fact, Mr Speaker, you were on that committee also, as was the member for Kaurna. I hope to see the introduction of legislation soon to regulate e-cigarettes because of those recommendations. I know that the shadow minister for health and wellbeing (member for Kaurna) has written to the minister in the other place asking for legislation to be reintroduced as soon as possible. The sale, supply, advertising and exposure of the vapour to children and young people are key aspects to this. These are just two of the pieces of well-documented work undertaken by Annabel Digance, and I was able to play just a small role in those.

The Hon. Gail Gago has also bid farewell as a parliamentarian after 16 years of amazing service. I first met Gail when she was the secretary of the then Australian Nursing Federation—prior to the changes in the 1990s—during a period of great change in nursing, as we fought very hard to be recognised as a profession. Nurse training was transitioning from hospital-based to fully university-based and it was the last time that our state had a Liberal government. That was a very long time ago. We are in a period of change now as well, aren't we?

Gail was the first female acting premier of South Australia and the first female leader of the government in the Legislative Council. I cannot recall how many portfolio responsibilities Gail held during her time as a minister, but to say it was dozens would not be an exaggeration. I will reel some off. Gail was the minister for mental health and substance abuse, regional development, public sector, forests, tourism, consumer affairs, gambling, agriculture, food and fisheries, local government, higher education, science and information technology and business services. She will go down as one of the most amazing ministers for the status of women that this state will ever see. I am glad she did not do all those jobs at the same time. Even you, Mr Speaker, would struggle, I believe.

Gail has left her mark on the parliamentary Labor Party. She has especially been a role model for women, parliamentarians and nurses—an incredible woman. Annabel and/or Gail and I had many conversations in here about the challenges faced by nurses and midwives due to health reforms. We advocated on behalf of the profession to ensure the impacts on nursing workforce became part of the daily language and considerations of the minister for health as Transforming Health was implemented. We asked questions related to the evidence that decisions were being based on and jumped many steps ahead with our questions, much to the frustration, I am sure, of people tasked with the implementation and, of course, poor minister Snelling.

I know that we all played our part in changing the direction of many aspects of the reforms in our sector. Together, we listened to and forensically dissected evidence. We put the case to the minister to question reasoning for various recommendations. We knew that we had to be able to answer the questions of our community. As nurses and midwives, we had the skills to be able to do this. I will desperately miss the company and the camaraderie of both Annabel and Gail, but I will do my best to continue to advocate strongly for nurses, midwives and consumers on their behalf. I commit to working in a bipartisan way with the opposition to ensure that that voice continues.

I would like to mention the recent election to federal parliament, in the seat of Batman in Victoria, of our colleague Ged Kearney. Ged worked as a registered nurse, a trade unionist with the Australian Nursing Federation in Victoria and federally before being elected as the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions. We desperately need nursing representation in all parliaments and at all levels of government. There is a serious under-representation of nurses and other caring roles.

In Australia, nearly 2 per cent, or one in 50 workers, are nurses—approximately 220,000 nurses. There is just a handful of nurses in parliament. So, if I can run a pitch, I encourage you all to get involved. Put your hands up at whatever level of government you can. Ask your local members and councillors how you can play a role in change. There are local government elections later this year. There is a Mayo by-election. There is a whole range of opportunities to get involved and to engage. You can be what you can see. Let your colleagues see what they can be. Be it and lead the way. With that, I commend this motion to the house.

Mr PEDERICK (Hammond) (11:41): I rise to support this motion by the member for Hurtle Vale. I certainly want to acknowledge the great work that nurses and midwives do in our community. I will note the motion:

That this house—

(a) recognises International Day of the Midwife held on 5 May annually, with the theme this year being 'Midwives leading the way with quality care';

(b) recognises International Nurses Day held on 12 May annually, with the theme this year being 'Nurses, a voice to lead: health is a human right'; and

(c) thanks all midwives and nurses for the important work that they do caring for our community.

We do need to recognise International Nurses Day and International Day of the Midwife. It is an opportunity for all of us to pause and reflect on the important role that nurses and midwives have in healthcare settings in South Australia and across the world.

Nurses and midwives are there when life begins and there when it ends. There are few professions that have that privilege but also carry with them such immense responsibility. Celebrated on 5 May, the global theme for this year's International Day of the Midwife is 'Midwives leading the way with quality care'. This theme signifies the vital role that midwives play to ensure that women and babies safely navigate pregnancy and birth and recognises that these early interactions can lay the foundation for continued health and wellbeing beyond childbirth.

International Nurses Day is celebrated on 12 May, the anniversary of Florence Nightingale's birth. This year it focuses on the theme 'Nurses, a voice to lead: health is a human right'. Florence Nightingale was instrumental in changing society's approach to and the view of nursing and midwifery. She was a humanitarian who dedicated her life's work to benefit others, but she also understood and fought for the valuable contribution that nurses and midwives can and should make in healthcare settings.

With this year's International Nurses Day theme in mind, the Minister for Health and Wellbeing, the Hon. Stephen Wade, awarded the inaugural humanitarian awards at the Nursing and Midwifery Excellence Awards on 11 May 2018. These awards recognise individuals in local health settings who go above and beyond the call of duty to provide outstanding care to their patients, just as the lady with the lamp did over 150 years ago.

While it is very important to celebrate these individual achievements, International Nurses Day and International Day of the Midwife provide us with an important opportunity to acknowledge the collective contributions of the state's nurses and midwives, those in aged or community care, those in disability or mental health, those in acute or primary care, and so on. There is barely healthcare intervention in South Australia that a nurse or midwife does not have a key role in, whether it is guiding a newborn into the world, delivering a child's vaccination (which, I can tell you, from watching one of my children, was a noisy experience), helping rehabilitate a motor accident victim or caring for someone at the end of their life, to name but a few.

The government has committed to assist in building the capacity and capability of nursing and midwifery through the Rural Health Workforce Strategy. This commitment aligns with the South Australian Health Strategic Plan 2017-20 in ensuring a suitably qualified nursing and midwifery workforce is available to deliver evidence-based, high-quality nursing and midwifery services across the care continuum that is safe and reliable, integrates services and holds the patient and their family at the centre of service design and delivery, importantly for the people living in the most isolated and remote areas of South Australia.

I certainly want to acknowledge all nurses—triage nurses and nurse practitioners—who do that job in rural South Australia, especially in those difficult situations, when we do not always have a doctor on site and we have the SAVES initiative in place, when a doctor looks through a remote camera at what could be a car accident victim or something. I want to acknowledge the extended role they play and the extended training they take to protect those of us in regional areas and provide absolutely valuable, quality health care. In saying that, we are absolutely committed on this side of the house to supporting and valuing the contribution of nurses and midwives in this state.

To South Australia's nurses and midwives, not just to those who are currently practising but to those who have carried the professions forward over generations—thank you. On behalf of this side of the house, the government and all South Australians, thank you for your hard work, your compassion and your commitment to making a difference in the lives of the South Australian community. Thank you, all.

Mr PICTON (Kaurna) (11:47): I particularly thank the member for Hurtle Vale for introducing this very important motion to the house. I thank her for her work in this parliament, representing nurses and midwives, but also for her work as a nurse in her previous life before entering this place, particularly at Flinders Medical Centre in the retrieval service and at other hospitals across the state. It is excellent that our state has the benefit of the member for Hurtle Vale's experience as a nurse in this house.

I acknowledge a number of previous members of parliament who were nurses, in particular the previous members for Elder, Annabel Digance, and the Hon. Gail Gago in the other place. Both gave excellent service to this parliament, particularly with their background as nurses, understanding the pressures and the care that nurses provide in our healthcare system. It was valuable and important for this parliament. Like the member for Hurtle Vale, I hope that we see more nurses in the parliament in the future as well.

I also acknowledge, like other members, that we have just had the International Day of the Midwife and International Nurses Day. This is my first year celebrating those days as the shadow minister and Labor's spokesperson in this area, so it is of renewed importance to me to honour those days. We on this side of the house particularly mark those days to say thank you to all the nurses and midwives across South Australia, who play such an important role day in and day out, right around the clock, in all different healthcare settings.

I acknowledge that we have a very large number of nurses and midwives present in the chamber today. It is fantastic that we are able to welcome you into parliament. This is your parliament, not our parliament, and we are here to say thankyou to you for all the hard work that you do in our state.

I will single out a couple of people, in particular, Associate Professor Elizabeth Debars, the CEO of the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation in South Australia. I have known Elizabeth for a bit over a decade now and have worked with her. It is going to be a pleasure to continue to work with her now in the health portfolio. I also acknowledge that we have the Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer, Jennifer Hurley, present as well. Congratulations to her on taking up that important role in our healthcare system. Representing nurses and midwives in that professional context within SA Health as a clinical leader is very important and I am sure that you will do an excellent job performing that role.

I note in acknowledging Elizabeth the importance of the ANMF in representing nurses in South Australia. Unfortunately, we do hear a lot of knocking of unions in Australia, and probably around the world, but in the ANMF you have a representative organisation of nurses and midwives across the state and across the country that provides an invaluable service in standing up for nurses and midwives, protecting their pay and conditions, advancing the causes of nurses in our healthcare system and advancing the causes of patients by extension to make sure that we have a better focused system on delivering good outcomes for patients.

I congratulate the ANMF on all the good work that they do. I acknowledge that on Friday we have the opening of their new education centre, which I would be honoured to attend, along with a number of members on this side of the house as well. It goes to show what a great role they provide in education across the healthcare sector in South Australia as well. We acknowledge and appreciate all of the nurses and midwives who provide that vital service in hospitals, aged care and primary care.

It is timely that we also recently had the Nursing and Midwifery Excellence Awards, given by SA Health, announced on Friday. I would like to extend my congratulations to all of the award recipients:

Roslyn Trott, Mary Buckskin Excellence in Practice—Aboriginal Nurse/Midwife;

Kylie Booth, Excellence in Practice—Enrolled Nurse;

Tracey Nicholls, Excellence in Practice—Registered Nurse;

Jennifer Wood, Excellence in Practice—Registered Midwife;

Justin Prendergast, Excellence in Leadership—Registered Nurse/Registered Midwife;

Jenny Gardner, Excellence in Innovation in Education—Registered Nurse/Registered Midwife;

Dr Lindy King, Excellence in Innovation in Clinical Research—Registered Nurse/ Registered Midwife; and

New Royal Adelaide Hospital Intensive Care Clinical Move Team, Excellence in Person-Centred Care—Team.

Congratulations to all of those award winners. I am sure they are just a handful of the standout examples of nurses and midwives who go beyond the call in terms of providing excellent care, as well as excellent leadership, in our state. I think it is very important that we recognise the excellent training and abilities that nurses and midwives have.

Florence Nightingale's birthday commemorates the beginning of International Nurses Day. Of course, there is a difference between then and now in the nursing profession. Nurses now go through an incredible amount of training, university education and on-the-job training to become a nurse. They play a very important and highly skilled role in our hospitals and in aged care and primary health care as well. It is something that we, on this side of the house, were very keen to champion in the 16 years that we were in government.

We want to make sure that we keep up in terms of the clinical roles that nurses can play to make sure that it is in step with the abilities that they have. The introduction of roles like nurse practitioners I think has been particularly important in making sure that nurses are playing the best role they possibly can and using all of the great abilities that they have.

As I said, nurses are also a fantastic voice for patients. The care that they provide in all settings of our healthcare system in standing up for patients and representing patients is vitally important. I certainly will be very keen in my role now to listen to as many nurses as I can who are on the front line of our healthcare system, to hear from them how we can best improve health care and deliver good outcomes for people.

I acknowledge as well that the ANMF and nurses around Australia have been undertaking a very important campaign around aged care and making sure that we get appropriate numbers of nurses into aged care to look after people. Particularly when we have people with a very high number and a wide variety of complex needs in aged-care settings, we need to make sure that there is an appropriate number of nurses there and that we are putting those residents of aged-care settings before profits of aged-care providers. That is something that certainly has our support. I know that the member for Hurtle Vale was at the rally on the weekend, and hopefully we will see more and more support for that campaign across the country.

I think it is also important to acknowledge the role that nurses play in primary health care. I remember when I first got involved in working in SA Health for a previous health minister about 13 years ago, one of the programs we introduced was a trial of practice nurses in GP clinics across the state. A lot of doctors back then were sceptical about having nurses in their GP clinics. Now we see the amazing role that nurses play in general practice across the state, as well as in a whole range of other primary healthcare settings. In particular, close to my heart is the role that nurses and midwives play in the CaFHS across the state. When you have a little two year old, you rely on the support that you get from those services through those tricky early years.

I think it is also very telling that International Nurses Day this year is devoted to health as a human right. That is something that is very core to our principles in the Labor Party, that health should not be about what your bank balance is or where your parents went to school. It is a human right. Every South Australian deserves excellent health care. I know that that is something that nurses in South Australia fundamentally believe as well, and I look forward to working with nurses across the state over the next four years to make sure that we develop policies to help improve the care for South Australians across the state. Congratulations to all nurses and midwives.

Mr BELL (Mount Gambier) (11:57): I rise today to speak in support of this motion in recognition of the invaluable work performed by midwives, particularly in our rural and regional areas and those who work in my electorate of Mount Gambier. The Mount Gambier hospital is home to three labour wards, with 20 beds and approximately 550 births per year. As one of only two level 4 maternity hospitals in regional South Australia, the Mount Gambier hospital can provide services to women and babies with more complex care needs. There are some 302 nursing staff employed at the Mount Gambier hospital. Of those, 28 are dual registration nurse midwives and direct entry midwives. Those midwives range in experience from the newly graduated to those who have had in excess of 45 years' experience.

Midwives in regional areas provide fantastic support to mothers and families, and their services extend well beyond those performed during their hospital stay. The pre and postnatal care provided by midwives is integral to ensuring that the babies born at the Mount Gambier hospital are given the best possible start to life. The provision of domiciliary care by midwives is vital to ensuring that babies continue to thrive once they leave the hospital. Domiciliary care services in Mount Gambier run six days a week from the ward and ensure continuity of care for mothers and babies throughout the Mount Gambier electorate.

On Friday 11 May, the Excellence in Nursing and Midwifery Awards were held. I was delighted that a close personal friend of mine, Rachael Yates, a midwife from Mount Gambier, was nominated for the Excellence in Practice—Registered Midwife Award. Rachael is doing a fantastic job connecting midwives throughout the state through forums, promoting best practice in midwifery. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate not only Rachael but the previous Labor government on instigating this program, connecting midwives around South Australia from regional areas through this service.

I congratulate Rachael on her nomination and recognise the fantastic work she does in midwifery, both in the South-East and across the state. It is vitally important that we continue to recruit and retain midwives in our regional areas and then connect them so that best practice is being practised throughout the state of South Australia in remote and regional areas.

In Mount Gambier, we are very lucky to have the University of South Australia offering a Bachelor of Midwifery. It is fantastic that local people have the opportunity to undertake nursing and midwifery studies in our area. It is one of the keys to ensuring that young people stay in our regions and are offered training and employment opportunities in this fantastic field. However, there is always more to be done, and I look forward to the government following through with its pre-election commitment to ensuring that we recruit and retain more health professionals to address skill gaps in our country areas. With that, I commend the motion to the house.

Ms LUETHEN (King) (12:01): I rise to support this motion. My heartfelt thanks go to the member for Hurtle Vale for bringing this motion and her experience to the house to recognise the fantastic midwives and nurses we have in South Australia. I also recognise International Day of the Midwife, held on 5 May annually, with this year's important theme being 'Midwives leading the way with quality care.' I recognise International Nurses Day on 12 May annually with the theme of 'Nurses, a voice to lead: health is a human right.' Thank you to all the nurses in the gallery today and in our community. You play a vital role. Thank you.

When I was doorknocking for the state election campaign, I came across many nurses and midwives in my local community, being so close to the Lyell McEwin and the Modbury hospitals. One of the things that really stood out to me was how much time the nurses and midwives took to provide me their perspective on their role in the community but also the amount of time they spent giving me feedback on how support of them and our community could be enhanced.

One of the areas that I received feedback on and learnt a lot more about was the need for more support for bariatric patients and support. The midwives told me that Lyell McEwin Hospital is a key hospital where patients are sent, and the numbers are increasing. As the numbers increase so does our need for the right resource levels and equipment to ensure the risk of injury to patients and staff is minimised.

We must listen to our midwives. They have important ideas born from their experience, and I believe they will lead the way to a better health system. Yesterday, as I said in my maiden speech, some situations that women bring a voice to also demonstrate our unique experiences. I will briefly say that being a woman and having delivered two children, I also attest to the vital role of midwives. Their care and skill makes all the difference in that situation, and it absolutely must be acknowledged.

The other area that was brought to my attention, as I doorknocked and listened to my community, was around the risks that can be posed sometimes when patients might have a history of violence or be coming out of the prison system and the special care that is taken to prepare for those situations. The third area that was raised, which I bring to this house to be acknowledged, centres around there being enough resources and the right equipment to help nurses do their job well. This has been brought to my attention by nurses and midwives because they care so deeply about our community and want to see the best healthcare outcomes.

Briefly, I conclude by saying thank you so much for bringing this motion, and I thank all the nurses for all the work they do to support people in our community. They deserve to be acknowledged.

Mr COWDREY (Colton) (12:05): I wish to also support the motion put forward by the member for Hurtle Vale and appreciate the contribution that she has made to our great state through her background and previous work. It is very important for us to take the time to recognise both International Day of the Midwife, held on 5 May, and also International Nurses Day, held on 12 May. The work done by our nurses is sometimes overlooked and sometimes underappreciated. That is something that I think many in our society wish to hopefully turn around. I note what has previously been said about the introduction of nursing awards and I highlight that that is an incredibly useful tool in bringing forward those who have gone above and beyond and contributed to our society. It is fantastic to recognise those people who have done such a fantastic job.

I wholeheartedly support this motion and wish to thank nurses for everything that they do, on behalf of myself, the government of South Australia and, I am sure, every member of the community who (a) comes into contact with their services, or (b) has had family, friends and others who have been in a place where they have needed the care of nurses. It is a profession that is difficult at times. I certainly understand that probably more than most. I probably spend more time with nurses than most in this house, given that my wife is a clinical nurse. My mother-in-law also has a nursing background, so I certainly do not underappreciate the contribution that nurses make to our community.

I am also very lucky in the western suburbs to have a fantastic hospital that delivers services locally, namely, the Western Hospital in Henley Beach. For so long, it has been a valued community hospital that has delivered services for the western suburbs of South Australia and, being centred in Henley Beach, with a practice around that, it is something that our local community values above many other things. We certainly appreciate the nurses who work at the Western Hospital.

Given the fact that I do have a nurse at home, I think I probably understand a little bit more than most about the amazing traits that our nurses have. They are caring, they are resilient and they rarely complain about situations that they are put in to. I hope you do not mind me being slightly cheeky, but they also have a unique sense of humour that I think is always important when dealing with the situations that they are put in, and I think that is something that we all appreciate as well.

I do not want to harp on this but, like the member for King, throughout my doorknocking during the election campaign I came across a number of nurses and had some quite detailed and long conversations with them regarding how they felt about their occupation, how they were enjoying their work and how they were getting on with the job that they had in front of them. I do not wish to express any more than the disappointment that many of them expressed to me about the lack of consultation and the lack of input that they had in the design of the new Royal Adelaide Hospital down the road from this place.

They identified things like a lack of security and design issues with lights, doors and other functional issues. Our nurses are at the coalface of service and care delivery, and their wealth of knowledge around the practical delivery of those services goes beyond those who may have had input into that scenario. I want to at least acknowledge the disappointment that was expressed to me by many about the lack of participation through that process.

I also want to acknowledge the continual professional development that is part of being a nurse. I think something that is often overlooked is the continual professional development and search for improvement and best practice that is undertaken in all clinical situations by nurses, such as looking for the best of aseptic techniques and applying those through care scenarios. Whatever the number of portfolio commitments that nurses have, it is a fantastic thing to see that continual search for best practice in their field. I think many often overlook the fact that nurses continue to strive towards delivering the best care for those in our community who need it.

I want to close by again recognising everything you do for our community, for the people of South Australia, and the contribution you make to those moments in our lives when we may not necessarily be at our highest point. I think that, emotionally, the skills of nurses to deal with the ups and downs, the stress, can never be underrated. We applaud you for your contribution to South Australia.

Ms HABIB (Elder) (12:11): I am pleased to rise in support of this motion recognising the immense contribution that midwives and nurses make. In fact, my mum is a registered nurse and still works today as a nurse in Alice Springs at the Central Australian Aboriginal Congress. By the very nature of the profession, midwives and nurses are who we rely on during some of the most significant times in our lives, whether that is giving birth or during times of sickness. It is the midwives, nurses and other health professionals who we turn to and rely on. I am sure that many people would agree with me that, when we think back to some of those most significant moments, some of those really scary moments in our lives, it is the nurses and midwives who we remember as part of those times.

In fact, I recall that when I was 14 I had a spinal fusion. It was quite high-risk surgery. It went for five hours, during which they had to wake me up and make sure I could still wiggle my toes so I was not paralysed. Following the surgery, I spent five days unable to move, so I was reliant on nurses to come and turn me in bed so that I did not get bedsores. Many years later, I still remember those nurses and I remember their kindness. I think everybody would agree with me that we do love our nurses and we do love our midwives and for very good reasons.

I would also like to reflect briefly on the theme for International Nurses Day this year, held on 12 May: 'Nurses, a voice to lead: health is a human right'. The human right to health means that everyone has the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, which includes access to all medical services, sanitation, adequate food, decent housing, healthy working conditions and a clean environment. The human right to health care means that hospitals, clinics, medicines and doctors' services must be accessible, available, acceptable and of good quality for everyone on an equitable basis where and when needed.

I am proud that the Marshall Liberal government is making improvements to our healthcare system in South Australia reflecting those standards. I recall that during the campaign when I was out doorknocking so many people spoke to me about the closure of the Repat hospital. So many people were impacted. Everybody had a positive story to tell about the nurses at the Repat hospital.

I remember one gentleman saying to me that he now had to visit Noarlunga Hospital to receive the treatment he was required to receive, but it was too far for him to get to from his home. It was a $50 cab ride and, as a pensioner, he just could not afford it. He was choosing not to go to his appointments at Noarlunga Hospital. So when I think about health care and the human right to health, meaning that it is accessible, it is so important that we see the Repat remain a genuine healthcare site.

In closing, in absolute support of this motion, I say on behalf of the whole Liberal team and the community, thank you. Thank you to all the nurses and all the midwives in our state for the important work that they do, caring for our community. Thank you for making our lives better.

Ms WORTLEY (Torrens) (12:15): I rise to support the motion moved by the member for Hurtle Vale, recognising the International Day of the Midwife and International Nurses Day, and in doing so I would like to thank the nurses and midwives, who throughout my life and the life of my family have played a significant role.

Only a couple of weeks ago I was at Modbury Hospital with my dad. He was moved to Lyell McEwin. When we left there, I was reminded of a quote I had read about nurses that said patients may forget your name, but they will never forget how you made them feel. In this particular case that was certainly relevant to my dad. So to the nurses and the midwives across Australia today, including the ones in the chamber here, and also to the Nursing and Midwifery Federation, the nurses' union, which plays such a significant role, thank you.

Ms COOK (Hurtle Vale) (12:15): I would like to thank all members—the members for Hammond, Mount Gambier, Torrens, Colton and Elder—for their thoughtful contributions on the motion. I would like to sincerely thank and acknowledge the shadow minister for health and wellbeing, (member for Kaurna) Chris Picton. Some of you may be aware and others may not be that the shadow minister, as he alluded to, has worked within health roles for a number of years. He was a key driver for the campaign around plain tobacco packaging when he worked for the then federal health minister, Nicola Roxon.

The shadow minister is a very determined, very passionate member in this place and in our community around health and wellbeing. I have had the great pleasure of working with him on some local health campaigns. Although he is not a nurse, he will champion health care and wellbeing and ensure that there is access and equality for members of our community.

I acknowledge again the presence of many members of Australia's biggest union, the ANMF, which does an amazing job not just for healthcare workers but as a voice for consumers of health care within our community and which passionately contributes to the campaigns. As mentioned, recently there was the rally on the weekend, on International Nurses Day, at Glenelg. Many of the nurses and midwives presently in the gallery were actually there, campaigning for decent, fair ratios for carers in aged care. It is impossible to deliver decent care, safe care and rewarding care on the numbers that they are given. I was there with the federal member for Hindmarsh, Steve Georganas, who sends his apologies for not being able to be here today; I want to acknowledge that as well.

I also want to echo the comments of many around the Nursing and Midwifery Excellence Awards. I know personally that some of the people here today who were part of that. I know that Natalie Hincksman is in the gallery. She was a member of that intensive care transfer team—she currently works for MedSTAR—that was recognised. Thank you, Nat, for the incredible work you do. I will not bring up the first retrieval you ever did that I was there with you on, but, anyway, we can have a laugh about that back up around the sandwiches maybe.

Thank you very much again. I was not there at the awards this year. I am very sad that I did not get a gig this year, but I congratulate all the award winners, and I know the shadow minister for health and wellbeing will be personally congratulating all recipients. I will acknowledge the Minister for Health and Wellbeing, the Hon. Stephen Wade, from the other place, who will be co-hosting the thank you event, along with myself and the shadow minister, in the balcony room in a minute, and who will be sharing the cost of that, too. So thank you for that.

Members interjecting:

Ms COOK: Thank you—he is a minister; he does have a bigger budget than I do. With that, I thank all of you for your contributions. I thank everybody—my friends and colleagues, my mentors—for the work you do, the contribution you make every day for health and wellbeing in our community, and I commend the motion.

Motion carried.

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