MEET the super nurse who saves the NSW Department of Health $1.5million a year by helping to keep our elderly out of hospital.
Debbie Deasey is a nurse practitioner specialising in aged care and treating chronic illnesses who visits patients at their homes.
"I assess and treat patients who might be bed-bound and unable to get to their GP or who can't go to the hospital and wait," she said. "It saves on ambulance and hospital admissions. Much of the time people improve more at home than they do at hospital."
The North Coast Area Health Service estimates Ms Deasey has saved the Port Macquarie Base Hospital emergency department $1.5million a year in reduced admissions for over-65s.
"There may be a financial benefit but to me it's the human cost that wins out," said Ms Deasey, who visits six patients a day.
Nurse practitioners have a master's degree and a minimum of five years' experience as a registered nurse. New federal legislation gives them greater access to the Medicare Benefits Schedule and the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. There are about 400 around the country but the Australian Nursing Federation is encouraging more staff to take the extra training.
Federation federal secretary Ged Kearney said a growing body of evidence showed nurse practitioners eased the pressure on GPs and public hospitals.
http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/shes-the-supe ... -rzuk.html
Super nurse
Super nurse
“If you trust in yourself, and believe in your dreams, and follow your star. . . you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy.”