Aged care nurses from the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) have travelled to Canberra over the last week to speak to politicians about providers failing to meet mandatory staffing requirements that came into effect last year.
Delegates from the NSW, QLD, ACT and Tasmanian branches of the ANMF said they wanted to "call out providers" who weren't meeting the targets and claimed care was being affected.
From 1 July 2023, aged care providers have been required to have a registered nurse (RN) on duty 24/7. From 1 October 2023, providers were required to deliver 200 mandated minutes of care, 40 by an RN - with the target increasing to 215/44 care minutes in October 2024.
“Our members are reporting that many providers are failing to meet the mandatory staffing requirements and are instead rearranging rosters to appear compliant. They are removing roles like Enrolled Nurses and replacing them with less qualified positions, which is unacceptable,” said ANMF Federal Secretary, Annie Butler.
“Providers are also placing increased pressure on staff, by asking them to perform non-care work like serving meals and washing dishes."
Aged care nurses and carers arranged meetings with politicians such as the Minister for Health Mark Butler, Independent Member Dai Le, and the Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney.
Nurses and carers "know exactly what goes on in their facilities. They see the flaws in the system and know what needs to change," said NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association (NSWNMA) General Secretary, Shaye Candish.
In October 2023, Minister for Aged Care and Sport, Anika Well, said the residential care sector was achieving care minutes of 193.99 per resident per day as of 1 October 2023, the day that 200 direct care minutes became mandatory.
