Today – May 12, 2020 – is International Nurses Day. This year we’re paying tribute to the incredible work of nurses, particularly those in respiratory medicine and all nurses working to save lives and bring comfort to their communities during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This year’s theme, A voice to lead – Nursing the world to health, recognises and promotes the achievements and contributions nurses have made, throughout history, to the wellbeing of the world.
Every day, our members – especially those living with lung cancer – benefit from the care and expertise of specialist lung cancer and respiratory nurses. We also know that there is a desperate need for the government to fund more of these nurses in Australia; to better support Australians living with lung cancer and protect our community from respiratory illness like COVID-19.
This International Nurses Day make your voice count by supporting our call for more specialist lung cancer nurses.
It’s time to change the statistics
Each year, approximately 12,800 Australian men and women are diagnosed with lung cancer, yet there are just 12 full-time equivalent specialist lung cancer nurses to help these Australians navigate the challenges they face on their cancer journey.
The experience of people living with breast and prostate cancer has taught us that support from a specialist cancer nurse is life changing. A specialist nurse helps patients access the right treatments at the right time, reduces hospital admissions, improves quality of life and increases patient survival rates.
The Federal Government funds 98 breast cancer nurses and 62 prostate cancer nurses; but no lung cancer nurses. Our Lung Cancer Scorecard presents a snapshot of the inequities faced by lung cancer patients.
Securing funding for lung cancer nurses is an important step towards achieving equity of care and service for all Australians impacted by any lung disease.
Make your voice count
We’re calling on the Federal Government to fund 15 specialist lung cancer nurses in the 2020/2021 Federal Budget. Earlier this year, 5,000 Australians signed our parliamentary e-petition calling on the House of Representatives to support our budget request, but we still need your help to get the message heard.
Make your voice count by sharing the post below on social media in support of the federal funding for more specialist lung cancer nurses in the 2020/2021 budget.
This #InternationalNursesDay I’m joining @Lungfoundation to call on the Federal Government to fund 15 specialist lung cancer nurses. It’s time to give #LungCancer a fair go. @GregHuntMP #IND2020