Today, on International Nurses Day, the Australian College of Nursing (ACN) has been proud to receive recognition for nurses from across the country and the world. This includes an open letter from the prestigious Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (ACSQHC) to nurses and midwives acknowledging their work and efforts in the past few tumultuous months of drought, bushfires and now, the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the open letter addressed by the ACSQHC Chair Professor Villis Marshall AC and CEO Adjunct Professor Debora Picone AO FACN(DLF), the organisation applauds all nurses and midwives and credits Australia’s exceptional response to health care disasters to their skill, knowledge and empathy.
Read the letter below:
Open Letter to Nurses and Midwives in Australia in 2020, the International Year of the Nurse and Midwife
Today the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care recognises and celebrates the great importance of nurses and midwives and the critical role they play in providing safe high-quality health care.
May 12 is International Nurses Day and a week ago, International Day of the Midwife was celebrated. In recent times and currently, Australia has faced exceptional challenges to the health and wellbeing of all Australians – drought, bushfires and now the pandemic.
Throughout, our nurses and midwives have been on the frontline displaying high levels of skill, knowledge and deep empathy, reflected in the way the Australian health system has ensured outcomes that have been equalled by few other countries.
Our nurses deservedly enjoy the privilege as the most trusted profession and enormous trust from our society. Nurses and midwives make the lives of their fellow Australians better every day.
Especially this year, designated by the World Health Assembly as the International Year of the Nurse and Midwife, we celebrate with great pride their leadership, skill and knowledge, compassion and commitment to achieving the best possible health and social outcomes for all in Australia.
We say thank you to these women and men of great vision and energy, who have set and maintained standards which have left their mark on generations of Australians.
Professor Villis Marshall AC
Chair
Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care
Adjunct Professor Debora Picone AO FACN (DLF)
Chief Executive Officer
Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care
