Aged care reform ranked top ethical challenge, report finds

Australia has named next year's aged care reforms as the nation's top ethical challenge, according to a recent report.

The annual 2022 Ethics Index released last month quizzed a thousand Australians on ethical challenges around topics such as Covid-19 and climate change.

One in three participants voted next year's overhaul of the aged care industry as Australia's most significant ethical hurdle.

Interestingly, aged care reform didn't make it to the top 12 priority list last year, while ranking third in 2020.

The sector is facing significant reforms, including mandated 200 care minutes per resident per day by October next year and onsite 24/7 registered nurses by July 2023.

The new changes are in response to the 2021 Royal Commission into Aged Care and Quality report that brought shocking cases of abuse and neglect to light.

Aged Care Minister Anika Wells said the Albanese government had directly addressed 37 of the umpire's 148 recommendations over the past six months.

"The former government completed a mere 6 per cent of the Royal Commission recommendations in the time they had in office," Wells told Sky News last week.

"37 recommendations to improve aged care in six months compared to nine in 15 months."

While most unions and major aged care providers have welcomed the reforms, significant concerns have been raised about whether the mandates are achievable by next year. 

Dr Nicole Sutton from the UTS estimated the sector needs at least 18,000 additional direct care workers, including 7,000 registered nurses, to comply with the new standards.

"We found that currently, 4.7 per cent of aged care homes are on target to meet next year's staffing and care minute mandates," Sutton said.

"We need solutions from both the government and providers because it's not going to be a quick fix."

The Ethics Index saw the aged care workers' index drop by four compared to last year, settling on a score of 50 for Australia's occupations in the healthcare sector.

Additionally, nearly 50 per cent of the participants perceived aged care providers as ethical compared to 30 per cent rating providers as somewhat or very unethical.

Nurses took the lead in being viewed as Australia's most ethical profession in the healthcare sector with an index of 77, followed by veterinarians (73) and GPs (72).

Governance Institute of Australia chief Megan Motto said nurses have consistently scored high on the nation's ethics index – from 2020-22, nurses always ranked in the top four most ethical professions.

In 2020, nurses had a net ethical score of 79; in 2021, that score rose to 80, only outranked by fire services at 85.

Motto said the pandemic had emphasised the nursing profession's commitment to delivering care under stressful and dire circumstances.

"We perceive them as highly ethical because they have shown us they are," Motto said.

"As Covid-19 swept across Australia, nurses swung into action, working long hours under often difficult conditions. 

"Australians witnessed this incredible marathon of bravery, determination and care from nurses during the pandemic."

The index also discovered a dip in the nation's overall levels of ethics.

"We know that strong ethics are an indicator of a strong, well-functioning society," Motto said.

"It's like we moved away from the 'all in it together' mindset witnessed at the onset of the pandemic when record highs were recorded in the Ethics Index."

The survey found that the gap had widened between Australia's ethical expectations and the actual level of ethics.

"The wider the gap, the bigger the indication that society is not performing the way we want it to," Motto explained.

"As we continue to traverse the 'new normal', it seems we are a little less trusting, more cynical and more divided."

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