Queensland nurses and midwives will today call on federal politicians and candidates to help make urgent change in private aged care.
Queensland Nurses and Midwives Union (QNMU) Secretary Beth Mohle said Queensland nurses and midwives would today take part in a National Day of Action calling for urgent change in Australia’s 2000-plus private aged care facilities.
Ms Mohle said the QNMU was part of the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF). The ANMF and QNMU are today calling for urgent change in private aged care ahead of the Morrison Government’s federal budget tonight.
As part of the Day of Action, nurses and midwives will distribute information and ask federal politicians and candidates to sign an Aged Care Pledge as part of the national It’s Not Too Much To Ask private aged care campaign. Voters are asked to consider the position of their party or candidate on private aged care before voting at the federal election.
“The QNMU is part of a national campaign calling for urgent change in private aged care. The It’s Not Too Much To Ask campaign is calling for simple changes any federal government could make right now to help fix private aged care,’’ Ms Mohle said.
“Nurses and midwives know elderly Queenslanders and Australians continue to suffer unnecessarily and die prematurely as a result of shocking conditions in private aged care. We also know federal politicians could make simple changes to help vulnerable elderly residents – but many continue to refuse to do so.’’
Ms Mohle said Australian nurses and midwives were calling on federal politicians and candidates to commit to:
- Legislated ratios – the number one issue for workers in aged care is that there simply aren’t enough of them. Legislated ratios means a minimum of at least 200 minutes of care per resident per day, with at least 40 mins of this time provided by a RN (in line with the Royal Commission’s recommendations). Ratios are a safety net to ensure providers safely staff their facilities. Without this requirement, providers will continue to put profits before safety.
- RN 24/7 – At least one registered nurse on site at every nursing home across Australia, 24/7.
- Greater transparency around how our taxpayer dollars are spent – this means forcing providers to publicly report where money is going and that money be directly tied to nursing care and staffing.
- Improved wages and conditions – right now aged care nurses and carers are among the lowest paid workers in the country. Registered Nurses can earn up to 48% more working in a public hospital. Unions and providers are currently seeking a 25% increase to aged care Award wages. The Morrison Government is not supporting this. They are, however, prepared to give out one-off cash bonuses to aged care workers on the eve of an election. These handouts, however, will do nothing to fix the appalling wages and conditions across the sector.