Banyule City Council has developed a mathematical formula to ensure Maternal and Child Health nurses have realistic workloads and families have equitable access to services. The Advanced Banyule Formula is the brainchild of Council’s Maternal and Child Health Coordinator, Marita van Gemert.
Council runs 12 Maternal Child Health Centres in Melbourne’s inner east. Nurses are responsible for the care of children from birth to age three and a half. When the Advanced Banyule Formula was introduced five years ago, Council ran 106 funded sessions, but the Formula can be applied to any agreed workload.
A recent survey of 36 Victorian Councils found that 78 per cent were using the Banyule tool in some way and Marita van Gemert has since written a new formula for rural Councils. The formula enables Maternal and Child Health staff to allocate sessions three, six, nine or 12 months in advance.
“I remember six years ago when it was time for the annual session allocation meeting, there would be tension and distress,” Marita van Gemert said. “It seemed to me that noone was happy, and it just wasn’t fair for families either. Our session allocations are now calculated twice a year and we don’t even have a meeting.”
For further information contact Marita van Gemert, telephone (03) 9707 9597 or email marita.vangemert@banyule.vic.gov.au
