NURSES and seniors groups say the quality of aged care will go backwards after the NSW Government ignored the overwhelming recommendations of a parliamentary inquiry with a decision not to retain the requirement for Registered Nurses on duty 24/7 in aged care.
Experts and organisations who testified at the inquiry overwhelmingly supported the retention of the requirement, which made it compulsory for nursing homes in NSW to have an RN on duty at all times.
NSW was the only state to have the requirement.
However the new Federal aged care legislation removed the distinction between high and low care, leaving the definition of a nursing home in dispute.
The inquiry last year handed down strong recommendations including that the requirement be retained and the definition of nursing homes in NSW be amended to include any facility providing Commonwealth funded places for people with high care needs.
It recommended the requirement be policed and exemptions only be granted on case by case basis where the facility could demonstrate it could still provide a high level of quality care.
Organisations including Alzheimer's Australia, National Seniors and the Australia and New Zealand Society for Geriatric Medicine urged the government to keep nurses in aged care.
Greens MP Jan Barham said without Registered Nurses on duty some aged care residents would wait for hours or even days for pain relief, to have a catheter changed or to have the specialised care that recognises symptoms of an emerging condition.
Combined Pensioners and Superannuants Association senior policy adviser Ellis Blaikie said the decision flew in the face of what all committee members including government members had recommended.
"The only benefit of removing the 24/7 Registered Nurse requirement is increased profits for nursing homes, but it comes at a high cost to elderly residents and their families," she said.
"The decision to employ a Registered Nurse should be solely based on the care needs of residents, not the bottom line.
"Without the presence of a Registered Nurse, nursing homes frequently have no choice but to transfer residents to already overwhelmed hospital emergency departments for basic treatment."
NSW Nurses and Midwives Association general secretary Brett Holmes said the government was setting residents up for more horror stories of neglect and hospitalisation.
"It's very sad news for NSWs elderly and families who rely on aged care facilities to operate to a standard of care that allows the elderly to have a dignified journey through the final years of their lives," he said.
"At an average age of 83.5, people entering aged care facilities are older and frailer than ever before, many with chronic and complex care needs.
"This is why it's so important to have legislation to enforce that high level of care going foward, but this decision will send NSW backwards."
NSW Health Minister Jillian Skinner said the government supported the availability of Registered Nurses "where appropriate for the level of care required by residents".
However she said aged care was the Federal Government's responsibility and retaining the legislation would duplicate the regulatory process without addressing broader quality of care issues.
"NSW will therefore pursue concerns about the current regulatory regime through the Council of Australian Governments Health Council," she said.
