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The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) has set out recommendations for minimum staffing levels and skills mix in a new report.
The report was undertaken by the union in conjunction with the ANMF’s South Australian Branch, and researchers from Flinders University and the University of South Australia.
It details the outcomes of the ANMF’s National Aged Care Staffing and Skills Mix Project, which developed an evidence-based complexity profile, tested the elements of care associated with the resident profiles and determined what care was being missed.
The report holds that a skills mix of 30 per cent registered nurses, 20 per cent enrolled nurses and 50 per cent personal care workers is needed to ensure safe residential care. It also states: “Residents should receive an average 4 hours and 18 minutes of care per day, compared to the current 2.84 hours which is currently being provided."
ANMF federal secretary Lee Thomas said the findings reflect feedback from ANMF members working on the ground in aged care and is consistent with members’ stories about the increasing difficulty they experience in providing decent care to residents.
Nursing Review sat down with Thomas to learn more about the ANMF members' concerns and the report's key recommendations.
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