The Department of Health’s last webinar on the Government’s aged care reforms has demonstrated the hard reality of the workforce issues facing the sector – with a clear disconnect between the Department and workers on the ground.
With over 1,300 participants – many of whom were aged care workers – the webinar was the first opportunity for the Department to explain their $652.1 million package to grow and retain the aged care workforce.
Asked what the reforms should improve for the workforce, the audience listed:
- Pay
- Training
- Career pathways
The Department acknowledged all three areas require work, promising to review the Fair Work Commission decision on the Aged Care Award and the Social Community Home Care Disability Award when it is handed down, plus more training in dementia, IPC, and palliative care.
But it was Kevin McCoy (pictured right), the Chief Executive Officer of Independent Assisted Living from Australian Unity who also serves as the director on the Aged Care Workforce Industry Council – and the first provider representative to appear on this webinar series – who brought a dose of reality.
1,250 new workers, but 1,100 leaving – 7% retiring
Kevin noted that the system is already experiencing high levels of attrition among new and older employees.
“In the last year, we had to deploy significant resources to recruit a total of 1,257 new employees,” he said.
“While this sounds great, we lost 1,106 employees during the same period for a net gain of only 131.”
“However, the previous year, the result was -335 employees. So our efforts for us are working and we’re definitely in the positive.”
“Most of our attrition is in the first 60 days. For example, I looked at June 2021. We lost 31 employees, and every single one of them had less than 60 days tenure. About 7% of exits are retirees, a lot lower than I imagined.”
The CEO maintained that despite the work of the Council, low wages would always be a barrier to entry.
“Knowing this, we need to look more broadly at what the sector itself can do. The Council, Australian Unity and many providers are progressing strategy to improve working conditions. These include the quality and content of training, establishing meaningful career pathways, improving services based on feedback from consumers and employee to make the sector a more attractive place to work and to be.”
He also urged the Government to work with the Council to develop a migration solution to help sustain the workforce into the future, noting that 30% of the workforce typically come from overseas.
“Hire reforms can help address the gap,” he said.
Gap between Government and workers
The webinar also showed there is still a clear disconnect between the Department of Health and the aged care workforce.
The webinar featured a video with an aged care worker Edith who works at Kambera House in Canberra, and Deborah Booth (pictured right), the Chief Executive Officer in Andrews Village in Hughes.
Both stressed the need to move away from a task-orientated focus to a person-centred approach in aged care, as well as the importance of face-to-face learning.
“I’ve got a workforce that does not learn online,” said Deborah. “It has to be down to the most basic of two tacks conversation and it is walking by… you cannot replace face-to-face education with this particular cohort.”
But Professor Alison McMillan (pictured below right), the Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer, immediately rebutted the points on training and person-centred care.
“I would suggest that we’re also seeing increasingly a whole world of us who, even at my age, are able to navigate the complexities of the internet and training,” she said.
“If it’s delivered in a way then engages individuals with that training and keeps them interested… I think that we need to think of a quite a broad range of ways of doing the training.”
She went on: “I think some of the discussion around this idea of task is an interesting one, and to be a little controversial … those tasks still … are very important. How we deliver the essential elements of caring for someone towards the end of their life so that it’s done with care and compassion and dignity. They are incredibly important tasks. We should be proud to be delivering that sort of care at the highest possible way.”
The panel did acknowledge that historically the Department has not had such a close relationship with the aged care workforce.
“We haven’t traditionally had access to workers, which is something that the department particularly is keen to change,” said Eliza Strapp, first Assistant Secretary on Market and Workforce.
“We’re working really closely with the Workforce Council as well around how do we get out and talk to workers and understand what are the issues that they’re saying.”
With an estimated need for around 3,600 RNs and 34,200 personal care workers within the next two years, the Department will need to move fast.
