Nursing care short in nursing homes, union says
Melbourne’s Herald Sun has reported there is just one registered nurse for every 42 high-care residents living in Australian aged care homes.
Many homes are without a senior nurse on the wards overnight or at weekends.
The Herald Sun report is based on information provided by the Australian Nursing Federation (ANF) aimed at boosting recognition for aged care nurses, who are paid about $300 a week less than those in the hospital system.
The chronic shortage of university-trained nurses comes as more aged care homes are being accused of endangering residents.
The ANF said the lack of registered nurses, also known as division one nurses, was placing residents at risk.
“Aged care is health care,” ANF national secretary, Ged Kearney, said.
“These people need high-quality health care from people who are qualified to look after them.
“Nurses working in aged care are paid significantly less than their counterparts in other sectors, which is one of the reasons we are having difficulty recruiting nursing staff to the industry,” Ms Kearney said.
The Aged Care Association of Australia (ACAA) said nursing home providers wanted to employ more division one nurses but couldn’t do so.
“They’re just not there,” ACAA chief executive, Rod Young, said. “The Federal Government for quite some time has failed to train enough nurses to meet future demand.”
Mr Young said that providers were also unable to match nurse salaries in the hospital system.
“The Government gives us on average $108 a day. You can’t get a Melbourne CBD hotel for that price.”
The National Institute of Labour Studies reports there are about 13,000 full-time equivalent division one nurses employed across the country.
Allowing for sick leave, holidays and three nursing shifts a day, this leaves 3,665 division one nurses available at any given time.
They are supported by 2,727 division two nurses and almost 14,000 personal care workers.
