Shocking number reveals level of care at Earle Haven
ONLY one registered nurse was left to look after 68 vulnerable residents the day the Earle Haven Retirement Village aged care crisis unfolded.
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ONLY one registered nurse was left to look after 68 vulnerable residents the day the Earle Haven Retirement Village aged care crisis unfolded.
And union representatives say that’s a normal shift, despite families paying thousands of dollars each month for the care of loved ones.
Queensland Nurses and Midwives’ Union (QNMU) secretary Beth Mohle said many of the retirees at the nursing home had complex and life-threatening conditions.
Ms Mohle said having one registered nurse to look after 68 patients was part of the regular day to day roster at the facility.
Less-qualified staff on that day were the equivalent of 2.12 enrolled nurses (EN) and 7.56 personal care assistants (PCA).
Residents at Earle Haven received an estimated 2.73 hours of care a day, rather than the
recommended 4.3 hours, the union said.
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Ms Mohle said the same figures, or worse, occurred in private aged care facilities nationwide every day.
“The public need to be aware this is not a shocking number, this is business as usual for Australian private aged care,’’ she said.
“In fact, under Australian federal law, there is no legal requirement for even one registered nurse be on site at an aged care facility.
“So Australian private aged care providers can legally leave a single registered nurse with an
uncapped number of residents. Or with no registered nurse at all.’’
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Ms Mohle said the Earle Haven crisis smashed the notion Australia’s 2000-odd private aged care facilities were staffed like public hospitals or managed by health experts.
She said the crisis also highlighted the dangerous and widespread under regulation of private aged care facilities in almost every community.
Ms Mohle said aged care staff were not responsible for systemic failures in private aged care
facilities.
The Federal Government has the power to make legislative change to safeguard tens of
thousands of elderly Australians but has repeatedly refused to do so, the union said.
She said there would be public outcry if Australian child care centres operated the same way.
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The QNMU has repeatedly called for the introduction of federal nurse-to-resident ratios and public reporting of adverse incidents related to patient mortality rates, staff numbers and skill mix, and how federal taxpayer funds were spent at individual facilities.
The QNMU has written to Federal Aged Care Minister Richard Colbeck to request unpaid Earle Haven nurses and staff receive emergency federal government payments.
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