More than half of aged care homes don’t provide enough care for residents

An investigation has exposed the scale of the sector’s problems after data showed more than half of homes were failing to provide minimum care for aged care residents. See the full list.

More than half of all aged care homes are not spending enough time caring for residents, according to the latest government data.

Our analysis shows only around four in 10 facilities met or exceeded the target for the number of minutes a registered nurse spent with a resident per day.

When it came to overall care minutes there was a similar success rate, with 44 per cent of homes meeting or exceeding targets.

Harden Grange in NSW topped the table for exceeding its total care minutes targets, while Victorian homes featured six times in the top 10. Queensland, Tasmania and the NT also had homes high up, while the first South Australia facility came in at 16th place on the list.

All homes have individual targets based on whether residents have high or low needs.

Hopetoun nursing home 400 km northwest of Melbourne is a top performer.

On average residents should receive 200 care minutes a day, 40 of which should be from a registered nurse.

From October 1 the care minutes targets became mandatory.

This data was from before that period – April to June 2023 – and reveals which homes are on track – and which ones need to do better.

Aged Care Industry Association (ACIA) CEO Peter Hoppo said all providers want to meet the targets but some are struggling to recruit enough staff.

ACIA CEO Peter Hoppo. SUPPLIED

“There’s a real pull on workers. There are just not enough to go around,” Mr Hoppo said.

He said the Star Ratings system was great if it helped older Australians choose a facility that was right for them, but in his opinion the data was not yet reliable enough.

“The Star Ratings has potential, but it needs time to bed in and mature,” Mr Hoppo said.

In our searchable table we only included homes that fulfilled all the categories for the Star Ratings.

Every facility received a staffing star rating, depending on whether it met its individual targets across the two categories.

One in seven homes received one star, which meant they needed significant improvement. More than a third received two stars, and needed improvement. Around a quarter received three stars, deemed acceptable. While a fifth achieved four or five stars, which means they were good or excellent. In total just over half were rated by the government as needing improvement.

Fay Comloquoy, Denise Horchner, Norma Webb, and staff Kristella Gates, Vanessa Scales EN. Picture: Steve Pohlner

Seasons Living in Mango Hill, Brisbane, received a staffing star rating of five, with its care workers spending double the time with residents than the target set by the government.

Residents are meant to get on average 228 minutes of direct care a day at this facility, but received on average 458.

Executive Manager Care Shannon Philips said they were “absolutely committed to spending care time with residents”.

“We are a boutique home and that’s our brand,” she said.

In order to ensure standards are maintained they have studied bell call times, so they know when the peak periods are and when to roster on more staff.

“We do time in motion studies,” Ms Philips said. “We are absolutely committed to exceptional care.”

A spokesman for Aged Care Minister Anika Wells said the government had seen improvement since the care minutes targets became mandatory in October and expected future results to reflect that.

He said the latest data predated “the government funded Fair Work Commission 15 per cent increase to the minimum award wage which was introduced on 1 July 2023, the commencement of the 24/7 nursing requirement, and the sector average 200 care minutes targets becoming mandatory on 1 October 2023”.

“These changes have had positive effects on provider’s ability to reach their care minutes and registered nurse minutes targets.”

‘NOT YOU TYPICAL AGED CARE WORKER’

Zahra Fox is not your typical aged care worker, but she is just the type of person providers are trying to attract in the middle of a workforce crisis.

Her employer Feros Care has launched a campaign to smash stereotypes around aged care – and its workers – in the hope of finding people who would not have otherwise considered a career in the industry.

Aged care worker Zahra Fox is studying to become a registered nurse. Picture: Supplied

Ms Fox, a student nurse and keen skater, said people are surprised when they hear where she works.

She said residents love her brightly-coloured hair and youthful energy, while she finds the job lots of fun.

“They’re not just people waiting to die, and it’s anything but boring,” Ms Fox said of the residents she works with.

“We laugh, there are some real characters, and there are endless amazing stories.”

Feros Care Byron Bay’s site topped the table in NSW for providing residents with the most registered nurse care time.

“The secret to great aged care comes down to having nursing and care staff who turn up each day, not because they have to, but because they love helping older Australians,”

CEO Karen Crouch said.

Originally published as More than half of aged care homes don’t provide enough care for residents