The report, released on Monday, made 14 recommendations, including making information regarding complaints at individual aged care facilities publicly available.

The report also outlined a recommendation that legislation be introduced to ensure residential aged care facilities provide for a minimum of one registered nurse to be on site at all times.

But the committee did not go as far as to recommended legislated staff to patient ratios. 

“The committee recommends the Australian Government specifically monitor and report on the correlation between standards of care and staffing mixes to guide further decisions in relation to staffing requirements,” the report read. 

The Australian Medical Association called for regulation to set a registered nurse to resident ratio earlier this month. 

Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation federal secretary Annie Butler had previously told The Courier safe staffing laws for aged care facilities were needed urgently. 

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.

“Unfortunately, there has been a decline in the proportion of full-time equivalent registered and enrolled nurses in the residential care workforce, and an increase in the proportion of personal care attendants. This trend goes against the increasing chronic, complex medical needs of residents,” AMA president Dr Tony Bartone said. 

The Courier has previously spoken to family members of aged care residents who were concerned about the low nurse-to-resident ratio in residential aged care. 

A Ballarat nurse, who asked not to be named, said she had been ‘so disgruntled’ with the standards in residential aged care facilities she will not return to work in the sector.  

“The manager will double normal staff working when auditors come to do their check. That is not the day to day normal running,” she said. 

The committee report recommends the Department of Health work with the aged care sector to implement a rating system (for example, a star or point rating system) for residential aged care facilities.

It also recommends the Australian Government review the Aged Care Funding Instrument. 

You can view the full list of recommendations from the Health, Aged Care and Sport Committee report online. 

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