Following his recent editorials on aged care workforce training for The Australian and The Sydney Morning Herald, the chairman of the Aged Care Workforce Strategy Taskforce has penned another opinion piece arguing a voluntary, self-regulatory code of practice is needed urgently to “lift quality of life”.
Prof Pollaers says providers and peak bodies that sign up to the voluntary code would be obliged to follow best practice in areas such as industry co-operation, research and workforce development.
“This agreed vision for the industry hopefully will give consumers confidence and the recognition the workforce deserves.”
Prof Pollaers also expects better education and training to be implemented, saying it is “evident there are serious gaps in care and some providers are falling behind consumer and community expectations.”
It is clear however he doesn’t expect providers to foot the total bill.
“The government and community need to give our aged-care workforce the support and funding it needs so it can support us.”
But there is the expectation that providers will get on the front foot.
“We also need a shift in attitude, with the industry taking the lead and showing the community what good care looks like.”
That means actively engaging with the public, and potentially changing models of care to meet the expectations of residents and families.
Big expectations then – and bigger changes on the way.
