Is this the biggest petition you have heard of? Victorian woman Jane Seaholme set up the Change.org petition earlier this year and has collected over 240,000 signatures calling on the Minister for Aged Care to set staff-to-resident ratios for all aged care facilities across Australia to “protect our elders, to keep them safe, respected and valued”.
Her mother had dementia and lived in a Victorian aged care home for 18 months. The petition only hit 100,000 in April, but after yet another investigation into aged care aired on The 7:30 Report, it grew to 225,000 by mid-July.
This ABC story on the petition published last Friday again boosted its numbers to the current figure.
Ms Seaholme is not the only one pushing for staffing ratios. The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (AMNF) has been staging a long-running campaign to legislate ratios in aged care facilities.
Last month, Centre Alliance MP Rebekha Sharkie also introduced a private member’s bill in an effort to force aged care providers to publish their staffing ratios.
With most providers already struggling to find workers however, we doubt the petition will have much impact on the Minister.
