Pay deal for Victorian nurses spells trouble for bush nursing centres

Lisa Hutchins has a deep connection with her local bush nursing centre in Balmoral, 75 kilometres south of Horsham in regional Victoria. Balmoral Bush Nursing Centre president Tom Silcock said centres like his were critical in keeping pressure off hospitals with patients having their medical needs met in the first instance. "To run a bush nursing centre, you've got a lot of other things happening behind putting the nurses in place," he said. "Bush nursing services like Balmoral are standalone, independent services, however, they do receive part of their funding from the Victorian government via our Community Health and Small Rural Health Grants programs." Ms Hutchins said bush nursing centres had "always been the pimple on the tail of the elephant in the health budget".