Aged Care Insite Australia's number one aged care news source
With nearly 65,000 aged care workers leaving the sector each year there are dire concerns for the future wellbeing of older Australians.
The Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) released a new report last week which found staff shortages in aged care homes have almost doubled in less than a year.
Chief of Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation SA branch, Elizabeth Debars, says the figures highlight an "abject failure" to balance staffing levels.
"In aged care, the complexity and intensity of residents is increasing and so too is the churn through the hospitals.
"We've been lobbying for incentives to encourage people to delay their retirement, increase their hours or move to rural areas to address these issues."
She says while the ANMF has been heartened by the commitment of the new federal government to place 24/7 nurses and increase staff-to-resident care hours, they now need to see action.
Debars spoke with Aged Care Insite about the shocking new CEDA report and how we can move to fill the growing gaps in Australia's aged care workforce.
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