FRAIL and vulnerable nursing home residents are missing out on essential care because of inadequate staffing levels according to Australia’s leading nursing organisation.
The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation wants to see an average of four hours and 18 minutes of care per resident per day, and wants a skills mix of 30 per cent registered nurses, 20 per cent enrolled nurses and 50 per cent personal care workers.
The federation’s South Australia branch has produced a report based on the National Aged Care Staffing and Skills Mix Project run in conjunction with Flinders University and the University of South Australia.
Federation federal secretary Lee Thomas said missed care was a regular occurrence in residential aged care.
“While the number of people in residential aged care has nearly doubled from 134,810 in 1995 to 263,788 in 2014, consecutive governments have failed to legislate the minimum number of staff with necessary skills,” Ms Thomas said.
“The report’s findings reflect feedback from members working on the ground in aged care and is consistent with the stories from members about the increasing difficulty they experience in providing decent care to residents, many with dementia and other high-complex needs.”
Factors reported as influencing the delivery of care were administrative load, communication needs of residents and their families, inadequate skills mix, size of facility and access to resources, and working with special needs groups (people with dementia, those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, and people receiving palliative care).
The federation is working on the financial implications of the report.
Flexibility a must
THE peak body supporting more than 700 Australian church, charitable and community accommodation and care services believes there is no firm evidence that staffing ratios achieve better outcomes for residents.
“The acuity of residents differs widely, with some requiring a great deal more care and support than others, and this can change over time,” said Aged and Community Services chief executive Pat Sparrow.
“Staffing flexibility is required so residents receive quality, appropriate care.
“There is a very robust system in place to ensure quality of care in Australian aged care facilities including the standards of the Australian Aged Care Quality Agency. They examine issues such as clinical care and staffing levels with regular visits, including an annual unannounced visit, to nursing homes.”
Ms Sparrow said care hours in residential aged care had increased over the last decade with the average direct care hours worked per resident per day now 3.81, up from 3.76 in 2015.
She said her organisation had developed an aged care workforce strategy framework with other industry peak bodies.