Position Statement for Healthcare in Australia

Part 1 Assessment
Position statement for healthcare in Australia
The healthcare system in Australia is entirely based on the knowledge, skills, attitude,
professionalism and improved quality of life for the community. Australia being a multi-
cultural society enjoys the healthcare workforce with different background, culture, religion,
ethnicity and language. Overall the workforce is estimated to contain 700, 000 healthcare
workers who are registered and employed in more than 13 professions such as health
practitioners, managers, administration, staff support and those who volunteer the patients
(Bhatt and Bathija, 2018). A sufficient supply of healthcare workforce is essential t provide
improved healthcare to the people and to fulfil the needs of the consumer,, in particular, the
patients and their family members. However the World Health Organization has strictly
specified that there will be global shortage in healthcare workforce, however the reason
remains unclear. Consequently, there is awareness about planning and appropriate funding
for the healthcare workforce. This demand in healthcare workforce may be due to an
increased life expectancy and ageing population which secures the future of this workforce in
terms of providing care to elderly with chronic diseases (Martin et al., 2017). Also there is a
considerable shortage of workforce in the regional and resource limited areas. Nevertheless,
there exists a gradual decrease in the working hours and it is evident from the report of
Commonwealth Department of Health modelling where it was revealed that within the next
20 years there would be reduction of 123000 nurses.
The factors affecting health workforce are the health policies, arrangement of funds to
disabled and aged care, policies in education and immigration. However the strategy for
national healthcare workforce includes adequacy, distribution of workforce and equality in
addition to cross-jurisdictional approach and value based changes (Laverty et al., 2017). Also
it is important to have coordination in education and prolonged sustainability. The models for

the workforce must ensure balance in general and special skills via primary care and inter-
disciplinary teams should focus on caring the well-being of the patient. Furthermore equal
access and healthcare outcomes, conducting programs that involve aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander. In addition proper education and training should be prepared with increased
emphasis on re-entry and retention of healthcare workforce. Also it is essential to provide
interpreters for foreign languages in order to improve communication with patients who face
difficulty in speaking or understanding English. However there is scarcity for interpreters for
foreign languages. Most importantly changes to visa conditions and relaxation in the
government rules is essential to bring in healthcare workforce from other countries in order to
fill the positions in the regional and rural areas of the country (Rodney, 2016). In addition
proper education for the healthcare worker is mandatory to ensure safety for the patients and
their team members. All the aforementioned factors provide data on the importance of
healthcare workforce and the service provided by them to the people.
Part 2 Assessment
Introduction
It has been determined that the factors such as exerting influence in making decisions, power
and expert about policies in healthcare systems should be on debate. The issues are about the
authority in maintaining the relationships between the nurses and medical practitioners within
the healthcare settings. Conventionally providers of healthcare have focused on appropriate
care for the patients (Bhatt and Bathija, 2018). Furthermore healthcare facilities work on
providing culturally safe environment. Since the past two decades there has been many
concerns regarding provision of clinical care, patient recognition, legal entitlements and
rights, ethical issues of the patients, and providing equal care to all groups. Australia being a
country, the healthcare workforce may belong to diverse culture, tradition, language, religion,

background and ethnicity, it is essential to maintain cultural safety (Laverty et al., 2017). All
leaders and professionals of healthcare have a significant role in providing a safer workplace.
Nurses and midwives are the largest workforce in the healthcare system. Nevertheless
discussion on cultural safety and equity in practice is not a naïve concept. The workforce has
to understand their role in building rapport with people belonging to all groups in a culturally
safe, secure and respectful manner. Furthermore, they should foster honest and show empathy
towards the concerns of the patients and their family members and strictly abide by the rules
on privacy and confidentiality (Martin et al., 2017). Cultural safety mainly deals with nurse
or midwife who provides utmost care based on their self-assumptions and cultural belief and
work in coherence with an individual from different background.
They always possess the responsibility to offer care thereby contributing to deliver the best
outcome for the patient or individual they care for. Also, they ought to work with that
individual in good partnership. The New Code of Conduct for Nurses and Midwives deals
about the principle of safe culture and offers guidance on basic knowledge regarding the
ethics to work in partnership with team members as well as indigenous people. In addition the
code mentions that they do not need to declare for white privilege (Phiri et al., 2010). These
codes were formulated via evidence based approach and consultation that was processed for a
period of over 24 months. The evidence based approaches included review from various
literatures that we solely based on national and international evidence on cultural safety and
evaluation of various complaints regarding the code of conduct of nurses and midwives to
fulfil the needs of the public (Rodney, 2016).
Australia is specifically interested in considering cultural safety as a model for developing
relationships in care towards the health of indigenous people. Additionally, Australia is
considered one of the developed countries in showering importance to health of the
communities. It relies on international theory based on the theory of multi-culturalism and