Caring Together: Fast-tracking emergency care
Source: New South Wales. Minister for Health. Media Release.
"More nurses will be appointed in metropolitan and major regional emergency departments in NSW public hospitals to improve and fast-track patient care. NSW Minister for Health, John Della Bosca, said 30 new Clinical Initiative Nurses will improve communication with patients and their families in the waiting room. “The $14.8 million initiative over four years is part of the NSW Government’s Caring Together: The Health Action Plan for NSW, which was developed in response to the Garling Report,” the Minister said. “Clinical Initiative Nurses currently operate in a number of hospital emergency departments and have proved very successful. “They can organise an x-ray so the results are available when the patient is seen by a doctor, and organise pain relief or a reassessment of priority for a patient if their condition changes while waiting.
“The result is a reduction in waiting times for patients in the Emergency Department."