Crisis as one in five staff in this industry plan to resign within 12 months amid Covid

Staff in one critical sector have described the “relentless, exhausting and distressing” nature of their job. Now thousands are preparing to quit.

A shocking survey has revealed that one in five aged care workers plan to quit their jobs in the next year after feeling hopeless, exhausted and “demoralised” in the wake of the Covid crisis.

And the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) research showed almost 60 per cent of staff in the industry plan to quit their current jobs within the next five years.

It found 21 per cent of aged care staff plan leave within the next 12 months, and another 37 per cent want to quit their jobs within one to five years.

Of those who plan to quit their current jobs, 16 per cent intend to leave the industry completely, 43 per cent plan to stay in their profession while 27 per cent were undecided.

The union shared heartbreaking stories from the sector’s frontline with chronic understaffing and feelings of being undervalued contributing to the mass exodus.

A 49-year-old registered nurse from Western Australia documented the fallout from a Covid breakout at work

“Due to a wandering dementia resident, it spread like wildfire despite closing off the section. We just couldn’t stop it,” they said.

“Our workforce has been devastated. I have worked so hard – over 120 hours for the fortnight. I have no more to give.”

Labor Senator Anne Urquhart and Braddon candidate Chris Lynch with aged care workers as part of a national day of protest.

Another Victorian care worker, aged 64, said that their facility was always “chronically understaffed”.

“Some staff have resigned, and more are about to,” they warned. “Makes me very sad for the residents that rely on us so much but there is only so much we can take.”

A 50-year-old registered nurse from Victoria was also experiencing the same situation.

“Every single day, every shift we work short-staffed. It is relentless, exhausting and distressing we can’t deliver appropriate care,” she said.

“Our managers now just tell us to work it out when we cannot find replacement staff.”

Others said they felt guilty for leaving the industry as it put the most “vulnerable” people in society at risk.

The ANMF said its survey findings showed how frontline aged care nurses and care workers were physically and emotionally burnt out after working additional long shifts without adequate breaks and often without access to proper-fitting personal protective equipment (PPE).

One worker, a 66-year-old enrolled nurse from South Australia, said the system could not be fixed.

“No one wants to come out and work in the regional areas. Employees rather retire from the health system completely. Or resign and look for other employment not in the health system,” they said.

A 38-year-old registered nurse from the Northern Territory, also said it was “too late” and “nothing” could be done to prevent people walking off the job.

Aged care staff are exhausted. Picture: Luke Jones/Unsplash

ANMF federal secretary Annie Butler said the Federal Government had been warned about the “impending crisis” in the industry.

“Aged care workers told us they feel ‘unseen, unvalued and cast aside’ – they’re overworked, stressed and are fast-losing hope and strength. Overwhelmingly, they told us that understaffing was the major reason for the crisis the system faced during the pandemic,” she said.

The Morrison Government announcing in February it would deploy 1700 defence force staff into aged care homes to fill shortages and help with cleaning, cooking and waste disposal.

But its been revealed that it had only added an extra 269 workers across the country as of Monday, reported The Guardian.

There were 167 defence personnel working in general duties, 84 in more specialist clinical or rapid response roles, and 18 in central planning or logistical roles.

A mass exodus is expected. Picture: Maxim Tolchinskiy/Unsplash

Ms Butler added that years of experience would walk out the door when staff quit.

“Lack of effective recruitment and retention of nurses and qualified care workers will only put further strain on a system at breaking point and will lead to more suffering and neglect,” she said.

“The survey shows us that the staff remaining in aged care only do so for the love and respect of the people they care for, but their wages and conditions do not justify the risks and pressure they experience every time they go to work. It’s unsustainable.”