Benevolent CEO Alison Moss speaks at Yeppoon Health Crisis Town Hall about lack of nurses and doctors

A public forum has heard how a Rockhampton aged care facility has more than 20 beds it can’t use, shining a new light on the struggling aged care sector. Here’s why.

A light was shone on Central Queensland’s struggling aged care sector when a health crisis forum was held in the region, with a shock revelation that vital beds were being left unused due to staff shortages.

Opposition leader David Crisafulli and opposition spokeswoman for health and ambulance services Ros Bates stopped in Rockhampton and Yeppoon last week to hear from locals about their experiences with the public health system.

On Thursday they held their 21st Health Crisis Town Hall at the Yeppoon RSL, with dozens of people in attendance sharing their stories.

The town hall allowed attendees to speak about their experiences in the public health system and also discuss with Mr Crisafulli and Ms Bates possible solutions to make it better.

But the meeting shone a new light on the crisis facing Central Queensland’s aged care sector.

In attendance at the town hall was CEO of Benevolent Living Alison Moss.

Benevolent Living recently celebrated the opening of stage one of its $47 million redevelopment, which included a new multi-storey residential care building with 36 suites and one-bedroom apartments suitable for married couples.

Ms Moss revealed Benevolent had about 22 vacant places that could be used to admit people waiting for placement in Rockhampton Hospital, but staffing issues were keeping the beds empty.

“The reason we cannot fill those beds is because of staffing, staffing of all designations,” she said.

“I’m talking personal carers, cleaners, across the board - but predominantly the skill set we are finding it hard to access are registered nurses.

“At times we are delaying admissions weeks because we do not have enough registered nurses to manage the clinical risk.

“The hospital wants to empty the beds and wants to send people from the emergency department because they don’t want to admit them because of their pressures, the concern I have is how many registered nurses do we have on the floor and can I manage the clinical risk.”

She said to provide quality care, they needed the staff numbers.

“The problem with aged care is we cannot deliver quality care if we don’t have enough staffing.”

Ms Moss said one solution for fixing the health care issue was fixing aged care.

“That comes back to making sure you have a thriving aged care sector, where you can recruit registered nurses and they’re paid appropriately and have an appropriate staffing level,” she said.

She said the shortage of GPs was also an issue.

“The majority of the reason why we haven’t opened the top floor of our new building is we cannot provide enough clinical coverage,” she said.

“So that’s GPs visiting our residents and also having adequate registered nurses, this is where it does result in more people presenting to hospitals if you cannot access these services.”

The issue facing aged care is something close to the heart of Capricornia MP Michelle Landry, with her dad being an aged care resident.

On Friday, Ms Landry met with Ms Moss to discuss the issue.

Ms Landry called for “urgent and tangible” solutions for aged care in rural and regional areas.

“I believe Australians deserve to age with dignity. The aged care sector is in crisis, and it needs help right now,” she said.

“I am consistently receiving feedback from both aged care providers and families who have relatives in aged care on the dire state of care. Tragically, I have heard of instances of older Australians passing away while waiting for care.

“This is not a reflection of the hard work that aged care workers provide. I don’t believe adequate preparation has been made to prepare for workforce challenges and not enough has been done to assist a workforce to become large enough and well-equipped to provide care.

“Demand for aged care has grown massively and the challenges that come with that increase has been exacerbated due to a drop in staffing numbers and demographic changes.

“The Federal Government must urgently consider all tangible solutions to fix the sector. These could include but not limited to fast-tracking overseas workers into Australia, providing more valuable training, more investment in new technology that reduces the burden on staff, and the further development of attractive career paths in the industry.

Health Minister Mark Butler. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

Ms Landry said she would be inviting aged care providers to a forum to address the issues affecting the sector.

“I want to see the sector thrive and see our older Australians receive the best care possible,” she said.

Federal Health and Aged Minister Mark Butler said the Labor Government was investing $1 billion in general practice and strengthening Medicare.

“Our Strengthening Medicare Taskforce will identify the best ways to boost affordability, improve access, and deliver better support for patients with ongoing and chronic illness, backed by the $750 million Strengthening Medicare Fund,” he said.

“And after working tirelessly throughout the pandemic we’ll give our doctors the resources to invest in their GP practices with our $220 million Strengthening Medicare GP Grants program.

“We are also investing $146 million to attract and retain more health workers to rural and regional Australia through improving training and incentive programs and supporting development of innovative models of multidisciplinary care.”

Questions regarding the situation at Benevolent Living were directed to Aged Care Minister Anika Wells, who was contacted by this publication for comment, but a response was not received before publication.