Australian doctors and nurses have united to demand the Federal Government to take urgent action now to prevent further COVID-19 outbreaks in aged care, warning that hotspots could appear at any time in any state or territory.
AMA President, Dr Omar Khorshid, and Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) Federal Secretary, Annie Butler, have written to the Prime Minister to express their concerns about the ongoing impact of the pandemic on aged care residents and staff.
More than 630 of Australia’s 850-plus COVID-19 deaths have been in aged care.
Ms Butler said the Aged Care Royal Commission had already exposed the true severity of the systemic problems in the aged care system.
“It has suffered from chronic and widespread understaffing over many years,” Ms Butler said.
The problems are “reflected in all aspects of nursing home operations and the standard of care being provided,” she said.
“There are too few nurses working in aged care, and nursing homes are overly reliant on lesser- trained workers, placing unreasonable expectations on them to ensure safe care.
“Our members have trouble accessing adequate personal protective equipment (PPE), and not enough attention is being paid to basic infection control systems and processes.
“The Government must act now to resolve these problems, stop unnecessary suffering and save lives.”
In the letter, Dr Khorshid and Ms Butler say that recent increased funding will go some way towards enabling people to stay in their homes for longer and increase infection control for those in nursing homes.
“We remain concerned that the sector is still vulnerable, and that our members working in aged care face unacceptable risks of contracting the virus,” they wrote.
Dr Khorshid and Ms Butler are calling for:
