Aged Care plan will create crisis

Date: 01 August 2010

The Australian Nursing Federation said more beds without more nurses will create a crisis in care within nursing homes in Australia.

Federal Assistant Secretary Yvonne Chaperon said she is concerned Tony Abbott's pledge to providers of an incentive of $30,000 per bed ignores the often complex health needs of aged care residents. Beds without more nurses or a strategy to get more nurses into aged care, will create a crisis in the aged care sector.

"There is no detail about how that money is to be spent by the providers. The $30,000 per bed must to be tied to the nursing care of that resident, not left to the discretion of providers to spend where they want," she said.

"Who will care for these vulnerable and dependant older Australians? Extra beds without nurses to give quality healthcare will mean they miss out on the care and attention they need and deserve."

"Tony Abbott has pledged $14 million for pet therapy and yet has not mentioned nursing care."

" This is deeply concerning and indicative of a party who do not understand the basics of aged care and the vital role of nurses in the sector, to the residents and to their families."

"Nurses are already leaving aged care. They are underpaid by up to $300.00 per week when compared to nurses in the public sector and often have to work long and difficult shifts. Care staff are also expected to work outside their scope of practice including medicating residents. More beds without qualified nurses, proper consideration of skills mix and staffing levels will simply escalate these problems."

"This is a simplistic attempt to throw $935 million dollars of money at the aged care sector without considering all of the health and care needs of residents. That includes the need for skills mix and staffing levels for nurses. This shows that Mr Abbott does not have an understanding of the aged care industry in Australia," Ms Chaperon said.

For further information

Contact:	Eleni Hale
Union:	Australian Nursing Federation
Contact Mobile:	0458 892 999
WWW:	http://www.anf.org.au/

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