However, NSW Nurses and Midwives Association organisers Rita Martin and Margaret Burgess met with nurses in Orange on Tuesday and Wednesday to start a local campaign to keep registered nurses in nursing homes.

The NSW Public Health Act 2010 requires nursing homes to have at least one registered nurse on duty at all times but the association said this is at risk after the definition of a nursing home changed in the Commonwealth Aged Care Act 1997 last July.

Mrs Martin said the association has a petition people can sign that needs 10,000 signatures by June 30 and currently has 8000 signatures state-wide.

She said some Orange nurses have also indicated they will lobby Orange City Council to back their stance.

“She’s [NSW Heath Minister Jillian Skinner] listening, I think she genuinely cares,” Mrs Martin said.

She said registered nurses have university qualifications and play a key role in aged care facilities where they issue medications and work with doctors to limit the need for some patients to go to hospital. They work alongside enrolled nurses and nursing assistants who have certificate III or IV qualifications.

“It’s a very minimum requirement already,” Mrs Martin said.

“The provider bodies are saying we will do the right thing but it doesn’t need to be legislated, and we believe it does need to be legislated.”

Mrs Martin said she did not think nursing homes would do away with registered nurses straight away but it could happen gradually.

Ms Burgess said in Orange aged care facilities often have more than one registered nurse on at a time during the day but most reduce to one at night.

All homes operating as a nursing home on June 30 last year must continue to do so while the Minister for Health Jillian Skinner consults the aged sector with her announcement due in the second half of the year.