Nurses, midwives and students around the country will soon be able to access a new national health and wellbeing service for any sensitive health concern they are experiencing that impacts their psychological health.

The National Nurse and Midwife Health Service (NNMHS) is designed and led by nurses and midwives, for nurses and midwives, to provide free and confidential case-managed support.

The NNMHS will launch in early 2024 with a national telehealth response and hubs in states and territories around Australia.

It follows years of lobbying by our federal body – the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation – who secured the commitment from the Albanese Federal Government. The government later committed $25.2 million in the budget to establish and implement the service.

NNMHS Director Heather Pickard, a Registered Nurse, said the service would make a real difference to the lives of midwives and nurses struggling with any sensitive health issue and in need of support.

“The strong wellness focus offers a compassionate response to sensitive health issues. There's a myth that midwives and nurses somehow have to be some extraordinary kind of human being who don’t go through the range of experiences that we all do as human beings. 

“That myth has not assisted the midwifery and nursing professions to recognise their own need for care and to take the time out to manage that.”

The NNMHS will offer care and support in a welcoming, compassionate and non‐judgemental environment, providing a safe place to connect and heal and contributing to better health for nurses, midwives and students.

Nursing and midwifery are rewarding professions but are also demanding and stressful with workers facing significant risks to psychosocial and physical health and wellbeing every day.

Negative impacts on the psychosocial health and wellbeing of nurses and midwives are not only harmful for individual staff, but also detrimentally impacts patient/client care, health and maternity care systems, and the welfare of the wider community.

The pandemic, as well as pre-existing and ongoing factors, have amplified the workplace burden on nurses, midwives, and students.

Deputy Director Mark Aitken said the NNMHS will be complimentary to already existing support services, offering support and choice for nurses, midwives and nursing/midwifery students appropriate to their needs.

“This case management health service will be an additional complimentary service and potential referral pathway from Employee Assistance Programs (EAP), as well as Nurse & Midwife Support – the national 24/7 support service that provides brief interventions, counselling and referral pathways and treatment providers.”

Ensuring nurse and midwife wellbeing is not just good for nurses and midwives. It’s essential for the health and safety of the public, the functioning of Australia’s health system and the economic health of the country.

You can read more about this new service here.

For further information or if you are interested in contributing or in becoming an NNMHS Ambassador, contact Deputy Director Mark Aitken [email protected].