Independent Rebekha Sharkie puts aged care staffing disclosure bill on the record

The Aged Care Amendment (Staffing Ratio Disclosure ) Bill 2018 has been introduced by Independent Federal member for Mayo Rebekha Sharkie who said it aimed to provide greater transparency for families moving loved ones into residential aged care.

National Seniors, Council on the Ageing Australia and the Nurses and Midwives Association (ANMF) have expressed their support for the bill which would require disclosure of staffing ratios by qualification –  registered nurses, enrolled nurses, nurses with certificate IV or equivalent, personal care attendants, allied health staff and other staff members.

The ratios would be published on the My Aged Care website and changes of more than 10 per cent would have to be notified to the government within 28 days.

“I have the oldest electorate in South Australia and the eighth oldest in the country so aged care is an important issue for my community, and they are deeply concerned that many facilities do not have enough staff with the right qualifications to care for residents,” Ms Sharkie said.

“When I have an elderly man in tears in my office because his wife nearly choked to death in a residential care facility because he couldn’t find a staff member to help, then there is something wrong with the current system.

“The Minister and the aged care sector are reluctant to set a minimum staffing level in case it sets the bar too low to meet the quality of care standards.

“I’m not wholly convinced of that argument. However I believe my bill is a pragmatic step forward that will make residential facilities be upfront about their staffing.”

Ms Sharkie said she recognised that different facilities had a different composition of residents with differing care needs and the bill would allow providers to add a short written statement to explain the context of their staffing mix.

ANMF Federal Secretary Annie Butler said  it was time to lift the lid on staffing in aged care.

The bill would allow vulnerable residents and their families to know exactly how many nurses and carers were on duty in aged care facilities across the country, she said.

“There are currently no laws which make providers have the right number of staff with the right mix of skills to care for nursing home residents. What’s worse, there’s no obligation for them to reveal the number of nurses and carers they’re employing in their facilities.” 

Chief Executive of COTA Australia, Ian Yates, said the publication of staffing levels was a welcome initiative to ensuring age care providers staff adequately to meet residential care needs and deliver safe and good quality care.

“Older Australians and their loved ones deserve access to information on staffing levels and mix to help them make an informed choice when considering which residential aged care provider is best suited for their individual needs.”

“Publishing staffing information on the My Aged Care website will not only benefit older Australians and their families but will also allow the Government and sector to identify gaps where demand for residential aged care is outstripping the supply of workers,” said Mr Yates.

“While COTA is unconvinced a blunt mandated nurse ratio is the best way to achieve optimal care outcomes, requiring providers to publicly disclose to consumers how their individual staffing levels achieve good care outcomes is an issue worthy of the Parliament’s investigation,” he said,