Nurses say elderly at risk

The recently released Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) report on Residential Aged Care in Australia shows that now 70% of residents in aged care facilities have high care needs, raising concern about the fact that the numbers of appropriately qualified nurses in the aged care sector continues to decline, according to the  Australian Nursing Federation (ANF).

The ANF agrees with aged care providers who are now saying that aged care facilities are more like hospitals than residences.

 “As people are accessing more care in their communities for longer, those needing residential aged care facilities are those who have complex health care needs, and therefore, require a high level of nursing care,” said Ged Kearney, federal secretary of the ANF.

“The people working in aged care are wonderfully dedicated, and deserve to be fully supported by qualified staff.

“Enrolled and registered nurses are needed to provide the complex care required by residents and to work with assistants in nursing,” Ms Kearney said.

The ANF is calling on the federal government to legislate for minimum staffing levels in aged care, for appropriate numbers and mix of all levels of nursing staff, and for a mechanism to ensure that nurses in aged care have wage parity with their colleagues working in other health sectors.