A new healthcare initiative in regional New South Wales is expanding, after successfully demonstrating how nurse-led clinics can improve access to care while reducing pressure on overstretched general practitioners and emergency departments.
A pilot program, led by Murrumbidgee Primary Health Network, saw over 25 nurses deliver chronic disease management and preventative healthcare across 18 general practices in Wagga Wagga and surrounding areas from October 2024 to May 2025. The Primary Health Network has been commissioned to run the strategy again, with 28 practices set to take part.
Operating in a region facing critical health workforce shortages and poorer health outcomes than metropolitan areas, the nurse-led clinics provided care for chronic respiratory diseases, chronic heart failure, diabetes, First Nations preventive health, and healthy ageing in residential facilities.
The initiative delivered impressive outcomes:
- 18 General Practices developed individual models of care specific to their community, provided to 252 patients.
- 78% of patients booked follow-up appointments, ensuring continuity of care.
- Life-saving early intervention, including the detection of a cardiac abnormality in a young patient.
- Participating practices reported that the model was sustainable in their setting.
The program offered a complementary source of healthcare for patients with chronic conditions in an area where GP appointment availability may be limited. Many of these patients would otherwise visit emergency departments for routine care or may forgo care altogether.
The pilot highlights the potential of the 40 percent of nurses who work outside the hospital system to take on expanded roles if supported by appropriate funding reforms. Research by the University of Wollongong has shown many primary care nurses are currently underutilised, despite their capacity to deliver high-quality patient care.
Unlike hospital-based nurses, primary care nurses currently have no independent access to Medicare funding, limiting their ability to operate nurse-led clinics more widely.
"This initiative demonstrates how nurse-led care can provide access to timely treatment for patients while allowing general practitioners to focus their time on complex and acute cases," said Chair of the Nursing in the Community Faculty, at the Australian College of Nursing, Professor Liz Halcomb FACN.
