The medication endorsed enrolled nurse and aged carer in Port Macquarie is calling on the Prime Minister to turn her attention to the the growing urgency of issues in aged care.
Mrs Jackman, a passionate and dedicated nursing professional and the president of the NSW Nurses’ Association (NSWNA) local sub-branch committee, said the Government needed to instigate meaningful reforms to fix issues around the provision of care of older Australians.
The push is part of National Week of Action for Nurses, with a focus on aged care nursing and current critical staffing shortages, and the challenges of caring for nursing home residents.
NSWNA branches, including Port Macquarie-Hastings, are calling on residents to sign petitions to hammer home the need for reform.
Mrs Jackman said that 95 per cent of nurses and assistants in nursing (AIN) responded in a recent Australian Nursing Federation (ANF) survey, confirming that their workloads had increased “significantly” during the past two years.
Correspondingly 95 per cent also said they do not have enough time to complete the job load that is expected of them.
When asked which were the most urgent issues that needed to be addressed in the aged care sector, the results were:
• Staffing and skills mix: 76 per cent
• More money for resident care: 61 per cent
• Wages: 59 per cent.
In the same survey, 98.5 per cent of respondents said they wanted the federal government to fund reforms.
Mrs Jackman said nurses and AINs wanted to work within a system where they can give the best possible care.
NSWNA general secretary Brett Holmes raised the hard questions: “What does it mean when there are not enough staff with the right mix of skills? Long waiting times for everything and aged care residents being unnecessarily transferred to hospital for treatment they should have been able to access in the home.”
Mr Holmes said it was a great shame that a recent draft report by the Productivity Commission, ‘Caring for Older Australians’ had failed to deal with care delivery and workforce issues.
“The report does not reflect the concerns of our members,” he said.
“Workforce issues are having a real impact of the level of care residents receive.
“Nurses and assistants in nursing are largely over worked and under paid. They are calling on the federal government to step in and reform aged care. This must include fixing workforce issues.”
But the buck does not stop at just aged care nurses — it’s across the board, Mrs Jackman said.
She said nurse-to-patient ratios in NSW were not acceptable and NSWNA had been pushing forward, in line with ANF, to seek justice.
Independent Member for Port Macquarie, Peter Besseling, said state and federal governments must address working conditions for all nurses or risk a critical shortage of health sector staff within a decade.
Mr Besseling, who is particularly concerned about the level of support for the community health sector, said governments had to encourage more nurses into the health system and the best way of achieving that was to properly resource staff.
“If we want to sustain our health workforce, we must do more to encourage younger people into the profession and to hang on to those skilled professionals already working in our hospitals and in Community Health,” he said.
“A recent Auditor General’s report on the health sector’s workforce revealed that, of the 6200 employees on the Mid-North and North Coast, almost half are over the age of 50 and will be contemplating retirement within a decade.
“That loss not only represents an impending shortage of staff, but also a significant loss of skills and experience.
“Our nurses do a great job and, if we want them to keep doing a great job, we need to provide appropriate resources that reflect and respect their efforts,” Mr Besseling said.
Independent for Lyne Rob Oakeshott said, “As the son of a nurse, I am an advocate and will continue to push at the federal level for more nurses, with better terms and conditions attached.”
To pledge your support for improved aged care nursing, visit the stand outside the Commonwealth Bank in Horton St on Friday from 10am to 2pm and sign the petition, or visit the website wwwbecausewecare.org.au.
For more information on all nursing concerns, go to www.anf.org.au or www.nswnurses.asn.au
