Staffing concerns at Millicent’s largest aged care provider have been recently raised face-to-face with the local members of parliament.
Recruitment and retention of staff difficulties at Boneham Aged Care Services have been pointed out to Member for Barker Tony Pasin and Member for MacKillop Nick McBride.
The Williams Road facility has almost 260 residents and staff and currently has a heavy reliance on agency staff from Adelaide.
Boneham chief executive Michael Filsell said he was joined by the board of management in talking to the two MPs about aged care funding and workforce shortages.
“While we see changes in funding arrangements flowing through in around 12 months’ time, we are still in the dark on what the impacts of those will be,” Mr Filsell said.
“We also struggle to attract and retain enough care staff which is an industry wide issue.
“With wages in the aged care sector being so low, young people are actively choosing the retail and hospitality sectors rather than aged care as a profession.”
Meanwhile, the number of registered nurses working in aged care will be increased and strengthened, particularly in rural and remote areas, under a new Federal Government payment aimed at rewarding clinical skills and leadership.
The $135.6m commitment was announced this week by the Federal Government.
It will also reward nurses who take on additional training responsibilities and recognises the invaluable contribution aged care nurses make across the sector.
Under the initiative, full-time registered nurses can receive a payment of $3700 for each year and part-time and casual registered nurses can receive payment on a pro-rata basis, averaging $2700 each year.
On top of these payments, nurses can receive up to an additional $2300 if they work in a rural or remote area, hold a postgraduate qualification or take on additional leadership or training responsibilities in their workplace.
Registered nurses working for the same aged care provider for 12 months will be eligible for the payment in both 2022 and 2023.
Health and Aged Care Minister Greg Hunt and Senior Australians and Aged Care Services Minister Richard Colbeck said the Federal Government was committed to reinforcing clinical support for senior Australians in residential care.
“This payment recognises the integral role of registered nurses in delivering high-quality care for our most vulnerable,” Mr Hunt said.
“We hope it encourages aged care nurses to continue working with older Australians and incentivises nurses in other sectors to explore a career in aged care.”
