The mandatory number of minutes of direct care per day for aged care residents has been raised from 200 to 215 minutes, with at least 44 of those minutes to be provided by a registered nurse.
The increase in minutes is the second part of the reform that began last year, which ensured every resident received 200 care minutes per day, with at least 40 of those minutes to be provided by a registered nurse.
Care minutes refer to the amount of direct care aged care residents living in residential care receive from registered nurses, enrolled nurses, personal care workers, or assistants in nursing. The introduction of mandatory minutes aims to enhance the quality of care and safety of elderly residents, reduce risks, and ensure consumers have greater access to clinical care, while the use of registered nurses will provide a higher standard of care and oversight.
Unfortunately, despite the mandatory care minutes reform recent sector data has shown care minute compliance is disproportionately low amongst metro providers, and that for-profit providers are complying at a “much lower” rate than non-for-profit providers.
CEO of the Older Persons Advocacy Network (OPAN) Craig Gear has called the lack of compliance “deeply troubling”.
“It’s been a year since the mandatory target of 200 minutes of direct care per day per aged care resident came into effect,” he said.
“These care minutes should be seen as the bare minimum. They make a significant difference to the lives of older people living in residential aged care.
“We are aware that providers in regional and remote areas are grappling with workforce challenges, but the data shows compliance is disproportionately low in metropolitan areas.
“There needs to be transparency around where the money is going. And there has been a long-held concern on the part of older people and their families that investment in aged care is going to some providers’ bottom line rather than to care.”
As anyone who has completed a Graduate Certificate in Business will tell you, maintaining the financial integrity of any business, including aged-care facilities, is important. It cannot, however, be to the detriment of its residents.
Mr Gear said providers who were not doing the right thing need to be held accountable.
Mandatory care minutes ensure that residents in aged care homes receive the dedicated care time they need during the most vulnerable period of their lives.
Unfortunately, it is estimated one in six elderly Australians will experience abuse in the community, and a massive 39.2% of elderly Australians living in aged care facilities will experience abuse. With understaffing directly linked with the level of care residents receive, the importance of appropriate care minutes cannot be understated.
Reported effects of understaffing can include dropped residents due to inadequate staff support to move them, broken bones and fractures, trips and falls, dehydration and malnutrition, dental injuries, infections, missed medication, and bedsores.
Increasing the mandatory number of care minutes per resident per day is critical to ending the cycle of mental and physical abuse that is related to understaffing. Properly staffed facilities can ensure resident health and safety, reduce errors and accidents, ensure collective resident acuity, and reduce stress and burn-out for existing staff.
Aged Care Minister Anika Wells has expressed disappointment at the current lack of compliance with the new reforms, and said in no uncertain terms, there is an expectation that providers should spend government funding on meeting the mandatory care minute targets.
“I know many of you have made significant efforts to increase your staffing levels and am pleased that sector average care minutes have increased to 207.7 minutes per resident per day, including 41.4 registered nurse minutes, in the June quarter of 2024,” she said.
“However, reporting also shows a significant proportion of homes are not meeting their individual targets.
“This is disappointing given the Government’s record investment of over $15.1 billion to lift wages in aged care, consistent with the Fair Work Commission Work Value Case, to ensure aged care providers are able to employ sufficient care workers.”
In an updated Statement of Expectations to the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission (ACQSC), Minister Wells stated that it should aim to work with providers if they show a concerted effort towards achieving compliance.
“At the same time, I support the Commission to use its full range of regulatory powers to enforce compliance with care minutes if aged care homes are not making genuine attempts to increase their staffing levels, which could lead to resident harm and safety,” she said.
The ACQSC has the power to take action against providers who are non-compliant about their direct care minutes responsibility.
Mandatory care minutes do not ensure that a resident will receive care aligned to their assessed needs. If a provider is compliant, they only need to be compliant at the facility level. My friend with Alzheimer’s did not receive anywhere near the mandatory care minutes that I thought she would, or that she needed, but there was nothing I could do about it. I assume that she was left alone as much as possible because was she had behavioural issues associated with her dementia. She sadly passed away in May of this year.