‘Bureaucracy gone mad’: Workforce crisis forcing aged care homes to close

Seven out of 10 Aussie aged care homes are struggling to recruit and retain staff to meet ambitious nursing staff targets, while one in five say the plan is “impossible to achieve”.

EXCLUSIVE:

Seven in 10 Australian aged care homes say they’re struggling to recruit and retain enough registered nurses to meet the Government’s ambitious targets, forcing some to close or downsize.

And one in five surveyed believe providing 200 care minutes – 40 of which need to be provided by a registered nurse – per resident a day, is ‘impossible to achieve’, according to exclusive research.

Aged Care Industry Association CEO Peter Hoppo, representing 500 providers, said arbitrary workforce targets are the last straw for those already struggling.

“It feels like bureaucracy gone mad with aged care providers being forced to recruit and retain higher numbers of registered nurses amid a worldwide shortage that is only expected to grow,” Mr Hoppo said.

“What is even more absurd is that we are allowing highly skilled enrolled nurses to be under-utilised or driven out of the sector when a simple tweak to the nursing component of care minutes, to include the clinical care delivered by them, would not only benefit residents but also free up registered nurses for other critical roles.”

ACIA CEO Peter Hoppo.

He said the initial goodwill towards the government for its work in getting aged care back onto a firm footing, was quickly dissipating as communities witnessed their aged care facilities downsizing or closing because they can’t meet targets.

The survey by Ideagen, which helps organisations manage their legal and regulatory obligations, found those based in NSW are most negative about finding enough nurses, with one in six saying it was “impossible to achieve”, compared with 11 per cent in Victoria, one in 10 in Queensland and eight per cent in South Australia.

The report also found four in 10 of workers have lost half or more of their management team in the last 12 months and three in 10 workers (84,000 people) said they intend to leave the industry within the next three years.

Ideagen CEO David Griffiths.

Ideagen’s senior vice president David Griffiths said some providers will never be able to meet the new standards without further support.

“Registered nurses are one of the most in-demand professions in the country, yet the aged care system we are moving towards doesn’t seem to acknowledge they can find better paid work elsewhere in public hospitals,” Mr Griffiths said.

Shadow Minister for Health and Aged Care Anne Ruston said in the past year, 40 aged care homes have been forced to close, and in the past four months the number of aged care beds have reduced by 325, despite ever growing waiting lists.

“We know that the aged care sector is currently 5122 registered nurses short to meet the government’s 24/7 registered nurses and mandated care minute requirements in 2023-24 alone,” Ms Ruston said.

Federal Shadow Minister for Health and Aged Care Anne Ruston. Picture: Supplied

The department has given 46 facilities exemptions to the 24/7 registered nurse requirement, of these 40 are still in place.

Aged Care Minister Anika Wells said there was a registered nurse on-site in aged care homes 98 per cent of the time, or 23.5 hours a day.

“We know that workforce pressures are the number one challenge for providers, that’s why we invested $11.3 billion dollars to back a 15 per cent award wage increase for workers,” Ms Wells said.

“Providers have told us this is greatly improving retention and attraction of new workers to aged care. The latest data received from SEEK.com shows a 72 per cent increase in applications per job ad for aged care nursing roles from January to June 2023.”