Sep 21, 2020

Victorian premier says staff ratios could have saved aged care during pandemic

 

The Victorian premier has weighed in to the debate about aged care staffing numbers, suggesting the federal government could have done more to prevent outbreaks in aged care facilities if it had implemented mandatory staff ratios in aged care homes.

In a press conference this morning, premier Daniel Andrews said his government is limited in what it can do in aged care, because the sector is funded and regulated by the federal government.

There have been almost 2,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases among aged care residents in Victoria since January, including over 600 deaths.

Despite the crisis, Mr Andrews said he is still hearing of casual staff working across multiple facilities.

But he said there is little his government can do to stop this from occurring, other than providing financial support for casual workers required to test and self-isolate.

Mr Andrews said the federal government could have done more to ensure private aged care facilities were better prepared for COVID-19 outbreaks.

“There’s a lot of things we could do, we could have nurse-to-patient ratios like we do in public aged care, but I do not have the power to do that,” the premier said.

Aged care homes across most of Australia do not have mandated staffing ratios, it is instead left to providers to determine what they believe to be the most appropriate staffing levels. 

However, aged care staff ratios are mandated in Queensland and Victoria.

In public aged care homes in Victoria, there must be one nurse for every seven residents in the morning, one for every eight in the afternoon, and one nurse for every 15 residents at night.

A report published in the Journal of the American Medical Association released last month, showed that in 4,255 aged care homes across eight states in the United States, those with more nurses had fewer cases of COVID-19.

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Some aged care residents still banned from seeing loved ones

  HelloCare has learned from a number of sources that some aged care homes are still placing unnecessary restrictions on visitors, even though the majority of homes are doing their utmost to do the right thing. Craig Gear, CEO of the Older Person’s Advocacy Network, told HelloCare that OPAN “unfortunately” is still hearing of families... Read More

Government support propped up aged care during COVID-19, but it won’t last

  The government’s COVID-19 support packages have propped up the aged care sector’s financial performance, but the gains made will not last, according to new research from an aged care accountancy firm. Independent accounting firm StewartBrown has released its assessment of the financial health of the aged care sector in the September quarter of 2020, when Victoria... Read More

COVID is surging in Australia – and only 1 in 5 older adults are up to date with their boosters

Do you have family members or friends sick with a respiratory infection? If so, there’s a good chance it’s COVID, caused by the JN.1 variant currently circulating in Australia. Read More
Advertisement