Aged-care Tasmania: Albo hears Launceston and Tamar horror stories
From staff only having three hours between shifts to carers forced to juggle 14 residents at once, the Opposition leader has heard about the struggles inside the aged care sector. HARROWING STORIES >>
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Staff only having three hours between shifts, residents with acute mental-health problems workers are not equipped to deal with and carers forced to juggle up to 14 vulnerable residents at a time are just some of the horror stories Tasmanian aged-care workers have shared with Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese.
Mr Albanese convened the roundtable at a Launceston aged care facility on Wednesday, day two of his visit to Tasmania, where he continued to apply to blowtorch to besieged Aged Care Minister Senator Richard Colbeck, who he labelled a “symbol of the incompetence of this government”.
“He has contempt for the basics of his job,” Mr Albanese said, noting the sector had nearly 800 Covid-19 deaths this year alone and more than 2500 active cases.
“The Royal Commission has not been responded to properly,” he said.
Mr Albanese also labelled the Federal Government’s $800 Aged Care Workforce Bonus Payment, with the second instalment of $400 due just prior to the Federal Election, “cynical” vote-grabbers.
If elected, Mr Albanese said his first move towards fixing the sector would be making a submission to the Fair Work Commission regarding wages and conditions, with aged-care staff being paid as little as $22-an-hour currently.
In response, Senator Colbeck said Mr Albanese had “no grasp of the challenges facing aged care, nor the measures implemented by the Morrison Government to address them”.
“We recognise staffing is critical for the sector and ensuring workers are paid appropriately is a key element to ensure the delivery of quality aged care,” he said.
“That is why we have responded to every recommendation of the Royal Commission and invested a record $18.3 billion in aged care since the final report was tabled.
“In addition to surge workforce measures, the government has also announced a range of initiatives to attract and retain workers to the aged care sector including the Aged Care Transition to Practice Program, a Workforce Advisory Service, an Aged Care Registered Nurses’ Payment and a Home Care Workforce Support Program.”
The Launceston and Tamar Valley aged and home-care workers who participated in the roundtable declined to provide their names to The Mercury for fear of reprisal from their bosses.
However, they were frank in describing the sector’s issues to Mr Albanese.
“I’ve worked in aged care for 30-plus years and I’ve seen a big, big change,” said one.
“Back then it was aged care, but now it’s a lot more mental health.
“It’s not their fault and it’s not our fault we can’t give them the care they need.
“We’ve got 15 minutes to spend in an eight-hour shift with each resident.
“That’s wicked.”
Another said there were no activities for residents on weekends, with families sometimes forced into paying extra just so their mum or dad could be taken out, such as to attend church.
“When you first go into a home, there’s no formal welcome, it’s just ‘here’s your bedroom’,” she said.
“There really needs to be some floating staff (in facilities).”
She said she recently was buddied with a foreign worker who worked a 12-hour shift, finishing at 7am, before stealing an hour of sleep and returning to work at a different facility at 10am.
“They actually don’t think there’s any other way,” the carer said.
A union representative said staff were sometimes assigned up to 14 residents to simultaneously look after.
Peter Gutwein denies rift with Prime Minister
PREMIER Peter Gutwein has had coffee with Prime Minister Scott Morrison after the pair’s separate media appearances prompted questions about a rift.
The national and statel eaders made separate media appearances in the state’s north on Monday.
Mr Gutwein held a press conference at Bell Bay, while Mr Morrison appeared at Josef Chromy Wines at Relbia.
Handy information if you ever need to buy the Premier a coffee #editas#politas 😷 pic.twitter.com/5oxT6hM47C
— Alex Johnston (@swegen31) February 21, 2022
The federal government is at loggerheads with the states over funding for the additional health costs caused by the Covid pandemic. A meeting of state and federal health ministers on Friday ended without a resolution.
Mr Gutwein said there was no particular reason he was not scheduled to appear in public with the Prime Minister during his two-day visit to Tasmania.
“Well, look, unfortunately we’re both busy people and I’m sure he has some significant announcements that he’ll be making a Josef Chromy,” Mr Gutwein said.
“I’m here at one of Northern Tasmania and Tasmania’s largest businesses, ensuring that we work together to secure their long term future.
“I’ve had this in the diary for some period of time. As I’ve said we’re busy people, we’ll catch up I’m sure over the next day and a half while he’s in Tasmania. But this morning, it just wasn’t possible.
A government spokeswoman said Mr Gutwein and Mr Morrison caught up for a coffee mid-morning in Launceston.
Shortly before, Mr Gutwein said he wasn’t sure if the pair would meet.
“That’ll depend on whether our diaries are able to match up but I’ve got a very busy schedule.
“I’m sure he has a very busy schedule and at the end of the day, we’ll speak.”
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