The nursing union and elderly rights organisations say waiting for a royal commission into aged care will be too late for change to fix a sector in ‘crisis’.
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Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation federal secretary Annie Butler said safe staffing laws for aged care facilities were needed urgently.
“While the crisis in aged care clearly warrants a royal commission, we know what the problems are. We have two decades of reports and inquiries outlining the problems,” she said.
For profit and not-for-profit aged care facilities are not subject to legislated nurse to patient ratios in Victoria, while state government run facilities are.
There are no national laws to guarantee appropriate ratios of qualified nursing staff and aged care workers.
The calls for staffing laws continue after Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced a royal commission into the aged care sector on Sunday.
One Ballarat woman, who asked not to be named, told The Courier she was afraid for the safety of her mother who lives at an aged care facility in Ballarat.
“Sometimes I am just beside myself because I am scared. Mum is always crying. She says she feel like she is in jail.”
Mum is always crying. She says she feel like she is in jail.
- Daughter of woman in Ballarat aged care facility
She said she visited the facility one day to find her mother in law with dementia, who was also a resident, standing alone in the corridor wearing soiled pants.
This is one of a long list of incidents she has raised with management and staff.
“I spoke to the management about staff shortage and they cut me down straight away and said ‘that is not true’. The staff is like a revolving door… Good nurses have left… On the weekend it is really bad – you struggle to even find a nurse.
“One day when I was doing mum’s laundry I found tablets in her pockets. They are supposed to take them in their room in front of the nurse. Because of staff shortages the nurses give them at dinner time and they are supposed to take them in their room on their own without supervision.”
Federal member for Ballarat and shadow health minister Catherine King said while Labor supported the royal commission into aged care, the Liberals could not wait for the royal commission to finish before they start fixing the ‘crisis’.
“If we are to provide quality residential aged care and more care in the community - more resources need to go in. You don’t need a royal commission to tell you that,” she said.
“I have heard from many families and residents that while they appreciate very much the care that staff in residential care are giving them, there are not enough staff, they don’t have the time they need to properly care for residents and they are under significant pressure.”
Have your say on the royal commission
You can have your say on what you think the aged care royal commission should look at.
Public submissions on the terms of reference close on September 25, and the Health Department has set up a website to hear from everyday Australians about their experiences.
"Incidences of older people being hurt by failures of care simply cannot be explained or excused," Health Minister Greg Hunt said in a statement.
"We must be assured about how widespread these cases are."
The final terms of reference will be determined in consultation with the community, including residents, their families and aged care providers.
The government expects it will cover the quality of care, the extent of substandard care, and the challenge of dementia.
It will also look at care for Australians with disabilities living in residential aged care, particularly younger people with disabilities.
And Attorney-General Christian Porter flagged it could also look at elder abuse, including financial abuse.
"This royal commission will be about proactively determining what we need to do in the future to ensure these expectations can be met," Mr Hunt said.
The call-out comes as the aged care minister revealed the escalating number of serious risks found in aged care that led to him supporting a royal commission, despite previously saying he didn't back one.
Ken Wyatt says an aged care quality regulation agency identified two such risks in its first year, 22 in its second and 61 in its third.
"When you get information like that, you drill down," he told parliament.