Rachel Siewert (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise tonight to speak on the need for staff-to-resident ratios in aged care. In Australia there are currently no federal requirements for staff ratios in residential care. I am pleased to see the Queensland government moving to address this issue, and I will look on with interest to see where they land. There are also no requirements for aged-care facilities to have a mix of skilled and unskilled staff. We know that residential aged-care facilities are increasingly relying on personal care attendants to provide direct care to residents.

The proportion of registered nurses providing direct care to aged-care residents decreased from 21 per cent in 2003, to 14 per cent in 2016. At the same time, more older Australians with complex needs are entering aged-care facilities than ever before. The National Aged Care Staffing and Skills Mixed Project Report of 2016, commissioned by the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation, found that the amount of care required to ensure safe residential and restorative care for residents is four hours and 18 minutes per day; however, the current national average of care provided to residents is two hours and 50 minutes per day. These statistics show that, currently, staffing levels in many residential facilities are not sufficient to provide a safe environment for residents. Older Australians deserve better.

One of the ways we could significantly improve the current situation for residents is by adopting staff-to-resident ratios. Research has shown that total staffing levels impact on the quality of the care and the quality of life that residents experience. It also shows that inadequate staff numbers contribute to mis-care and that residents are most likely to miss out on rehabilitative and social care. The introduction of ratios could also reduce unsafe work practices, where chronic understaffing practices are leading to compromised care levels. The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation has also suggested that costs associated with increasing staffing levels could be offset by a reduction in ambulance transfers and hospital admissions.

We already have mandated staff-to-client ratios in hospitals and in childcare centres. In the acute care sector, minimum staffing requirements have been shown to prevent adverse incidents, reduce mortality and prevent re-admissions. These have the ability to cut healthcare costs. Why not introduce similar ratios into aged-care settings—of course relevant to each of those particular residential facilities. The federation recently released its national aged-care survey for 2019. The survey showed that aged-care staff also agree that the staff numbers are too low in aged-care facilities. It found that 75 per cent of staff members believed that the ratio of registered nurses to other staff was inadequate.

Another way that we could benefit the residents in aged-care facilities is by having a minimum number of registered nurses in each facility. The Senate inquiry into the quality of care in residential aged-care facilities in Australia recommended that residential aged-care facilities provide a minimum of one registered nurse to be on site at all times—in other words, 24/7. An ideal skills mix for facilities would ensure safe and restorative care is provided to residents.

In the midst of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, we are hearing horrific accounts of residents who are neglected and suffering from poor care standards. Over the past 13 years there has been a 400 per cent increase in preventable deaths of older Australians in aged care. We know that the current staffing levels in many residential aged-care facilities are not sufficient to ensure safe and quality aged care. We are strongly in favour of minimum staffing ratios in aged-care facilities, which must be determined according to the needs of the residents of each facility. This will ensure that we can be proud of our aged-care system in this country, and we can be assured that our loved ones are being adequately cared for when they eventually have to enter residential aged care.

Senate adjourned at 19:39