Aged Care Minister outlines ambition to bring sector ‘back from the brink’
“How our nation provides for the final years of a citizen’s life is worthy not only of dedication and dollars but of ambition,” declared Aged Care Minister Anika Wells, in laying out her vision for a better system for older Australians during a National Press Club address in Canberra on Wednesday. Delivering the first ever […]
‘I had to get out’: Enrolled Nurse opens up on leaving aged care sector
After her elderly mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, Sue Hewson undertook a care worker course so that she could remain living at home, and to help her father. It included a placement in aged care, a sector she immediately enjoyed and appreciated. So much so, that she quit her job as a bookkeeper to focus […]
Better pay just the first step to ensuring quality care
Better pay just the first step to ensuring quality care
New hotline to report substandard food in nursing homes
Nursing home residents and their families will soon have the ability to report aged care providers for serving substandard meals, with a new food ‘hotline’ headlining a range of measures announced yesterday by the federal government to lift the standard of food and nutrition in the sector. The $12.9 million investment, part of the $36 […]
Distressed and devalued: Aged care workers’ experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic demanded a rapid response from the aged care workforce, with the unprecedented challenges leading to increased workloads, intensified emotional demands and staff feeling undervalued, a study has found. Seeking to understand aged care worker’s experiences of the pandemic, University of Tasmania researchers interviewed 15 aged care workers from across Australia. Analysis of […]
‘I felt unsafe’: Why I had to stop working in aged care
In 2020, after nearly a decade working in ED, NSW registered nurse Emma McSeveny pivoted into aged care, believing that her broad experience and skillset could bring value to the sector. Within just three years, however, overwhelmed by not enough staff and poor working conditions and wages, she reluctantly made the decision to stop working […]
Taxpayer-funding for aged care must go directly to nurses and care workers – not into providers’ pockets ANMF says
The Albanese Government has announced it will fund the long-awaited 15% pay rise for the aged care workforce. The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) welcomed the announcement but the union has expressed bitter disappointment and serious concerns that underpaid nurses and care workers may be denied better wages, because the Government has failed to […]
Enrolled nurses at Southern Cross Care saved from redundancy
After six months of uncertainty and stress in the face of impending redundancies, enrolled nurses working across Southern Cross Care Tasmania’s (SCCT) aged care facilities have finally kept their jobs after action led by the Australia Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF Tasmanian Branch) forced the provider to back down on its plans. Today, the ANMF […]
Strength, will and knowledge: critical components for aged care nursing
When Gerardine (Ged) Kearney MP, now Assistant Minister for Health and Aged care, made her maiden speech in 2018, she had this to say about aged care: “While some enterprises in aged care are caring providers that struggle to stay afloat, too many are simply investors who cut costs and services to maintain profit. When […]
Aged care: Change is afoot
Nurses and care workers working in aged care understand firsthand the desperate need for change within the sector to improve care delivery and working conditions. The ANMF has been campaigning for decades to improve the visibility of the long-standing issues in aged care and improve care delivery. The Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and […]