Lucy Gichuhi (SA, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

I rise in support of this bill. There's no doubt that the Australian demographic is an ageing population. There are over 5.5 million Australians aged over 50. Some of the oldest are already moving into aged care. To accommodate the needs of the rising population will require a quadrupling of the aged-care workforce by 2050. Recent reports on the ageing of baby boomers show they are eight times more likely to have health problems than the previous generation. Currently, the number of people over the age of 65 receiving aged-care services exceeds 1.2 million. Of those, 83 per cent are classified as requiring high-level care. An estimated 60 per cent of these high-care-needs residents have dementia. More than 40 per cent suffer from chronic pain, over 50 per cent are incontinent and 45 per cent have a sleep disorder. The list is endless.

The management of these complex conditions and combinations of conditions require the skills of experienced registered nurses supported by doctors and other allied health care providers. Over the past decade there has been a marked shift in the composition of the residential aged-care workforce. Skilled registered and enrolled nurses now account for less than 30 per cent of the aged-care workforce. This is concerning, given the complexities that the elderly residents face in their day-to-day lives. Registered and enrolled nurses working in aged-care homes have been trained in administering medication, controlling infection and ensuring that residents receive adequate care, overall care. According to the current Aged Care Act 1997, providers must 'maintain an adequate number of appropriately skilled staff to ensure that care needs of care recipients are met'. Without clear guidance on definitions of 'adequate number' and 'appropriately skilled staff', there are a list of aged-care providers interpreting this very broadly—a risk that Australia cannot afford for our seniors.

The ability of nursing staff to respond to residents' needs in an effective and timely manner is largely dependent on reasonable, effective nurse-to-resident ratios. I recognise that further research is needed to better understand what the appropriate skills mix should be. Federal legislation is urgently, if not immediately, required to ensure that, at a minimum, aged-care homes have registered nurses on site at all times. Registered nurses are specifically trained to assess, monitor and, to a certain degree, manage complex medical conditions. This would reduce the need for the older clients being transferred to hospital emergency rooms unnecessarily.