Workforce

Page contents: Proposal to change the Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Act (1981) to authorise nurses to supply | RMRP | Rural Health Workforce Planning Guidelines | Occupational Health & Safety | Credentialling and privileging (defining the scope of clinical practice) for medical practitioners in Victorian rural health services

Workforce issues are one of the major challenges facing the rural health sector. Critical areas are the supply and distribution of workforce to meet existing and anticipated demand; recruitment and retention; quality, safety and regulation of the workforce; the level and nature of contribution of particular professional groups in service delivery and the development of a workforce appropriate to future levels and types of demand (including skills mix, training, continuing education, training infrastructure development). This work includes involvement in state and national policy development..

Proposal to change the Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Act (1981) to authorise nurses to supply

The Department of Human Services is considering the possibility and impact of changing the Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Act to authorise appropriately trained registered nurses (Division 1) working in rural Victoria to supply medicines for specific conditions, under certain circumstances and according to evidence-based protocols.

For more information see Proposal to change the Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Act (1981) to authorise nurses to supply

Rural Management Residency Program (RMRP)

The RMRP offers academic and experiential management training over a two-year period. Trainees are university graduates, preferably with some work experience, who have a commitment to undertaking a health management role in rural Victoria. The program provides health service management related placements of up to 6 months in public sector rural health services, peak agencies and the Rural and Regional Health Services Branch, DHS or a rural Regional Office of DHS, to develop their management skills. Trainees attend Professional Development days and complete a Graduate Diploma in Business Management by distance education.

The RMRP is managed by the Australian College of Health Service Executives and is partially funded by the Department of Human Services with rural public sector healthcare services providing placements and basic salary costs. It is an initiative modelled on the Management Residency Program (MRP) conducted by the College for over 16 years.

The program has two streams:

• Graduate Stream – candidates with an undergraduate degree and have had limited work experience
• Post-Graduate Stream – candidates with more than one undergraduate and/or post-graduate degree and typically several years experience within their chosen field.

Rural Management Residency Program Service Guidelines - November 2007 (510kb, pdf)

For more information contact:

Ben Witham
RRHSB
Telephone: 9096 1426

Rural Health Workforce Planning Guidelines

The workforce planning guidelines, developed in collaboration with the rural health sector, provide rural health services with the tools and templates to undertake their own planning exercises. The development of a workforce plan, and the subsequent implementation of strategies, will assist health services in taking a pro-active approach to human resource management.

DHS Rural Health Workforce Planning Guidelines (510kb, pdf)

DHS Rural Health Workforce Planning Guidelines - appendix 12 Sample workforce plan (213kb, pdf)

Health Life Spreadsheet (1mb, Ms Excel)

Rural Health Workforce Planning: Instructions for ‘Manual’ Workforce Planning Spreadsheet (58kb, pdf)

Workforce Planning Spreadsheet (125kb, pdf)

For more information, contact:

Sue Leyland
Tel: (61 3) 90960433
Email: Susan.Leyland@dhs.vic.gov.au

Occupational Health & Safety

Since the Victorian Government implemented the Budget Sector Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) Improvement Strategy in March 2001, the Rural and Regional Health Services Branch has been actively involved in providing information and support to small rural health services and hospitals to improve their OH&S performance. In addition, the Branch has been involved in broader initiatives undertaken by DHS. These include:

• Development of a website, which offers a collection of information directly relevant to the management of health and safety in the hospital sector. More specifically, the site provides a range of policy documents, together with templates for forms and procedures relating to common health and safety matters that need to be addressed in hospitals. The website can be accessed at http://www.health.vic.gov.au/ohs/.

• Development of the Department of Human Services – Public Hospital Sector Occupational Health and Safety Management Framework Model”. This document was specifically developed to assist agencies and to guide them in attaining the highest possible standards in occupational health and safety and injury management by adopting a “building block” approach. The structure of the document also encourages an integration of occupational health and safety, employee wellbeing and WorkCover responsibilities across the whole organisation. Based on commonly accepted health and safety management system standards, the framework aims to enhance rather than duplicate existing processes used within individual agencies. Copies of the document can be downloaded from the Department’s Public Hospital OH&S website.

• Facilitating a series of seminars and workshops aimed at educating and informing health service representatives on a range of priority issues. These seminars and workshops also provide a forum for representatives to share information, exchange ideas and discuss common issues facing rural health services.

• Establishment of a Regional OH&S Co-ordinator pilot project in the Grampians Region funded by the Branch. This project is aimed at developing a shared-service approach to the provision of OH&S services in the rural health sector, particularly small rural health services. The Co-ordinator is responsible for developing, implementing and monitoring system-based initiatives to support health services in the management of their OH&S responsibilities. While the Co-ordinator will undertake some work with individual agencies such as assisting with safety audits, risk assessments and development of Action Plans, the role will also focus on sector-wide responses to emerging trends and issues in OH&S performance, facilitating a sharing of information, education and training.

Further information regarding the OH&S initiatives being undertaken in rural health services can be obtained from:

Pam Sheers
Enquiries: Tel (61 3) 9096 1525

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Credentialling and privileging (defining the scope of clinical practice) for medical practitioners in Victorian rural health services

Credentialling and privileging (defining the scope of clinical practice) for medical practitioners in Victorian rural health services policy handbook has now been replaced by the Statewide Policy - Credentialling and Defining the Scope of Clinical Practice for Medical Practitioners in Victorian Health Services - a policy handbook.

For all enquiries regarding this Policy for the Rural and Regional Health Services please contact:

Dr Susan Sdrinis,
Senior Medical Officer
Tel: (61 3) 9096 1512
Email: Susan.Sdrinis@dhs.vic.gov.au

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