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Action Required on More Than Aged Care Paperwork

The Health Services Union welcomed today’s announcement by the Federal Government of extra spending in nursing homes to reduce paperwork but said more action was needed to improve care levels.

HSU national secretary Craig Thomson said it would take a lot more than Palm pilots for staff to get aged care up to the standard it should be.

"Any initiative to remove the paperwork burden on staff and get antiquated accounting systems up to speed is welcome," he said.

"But the best way to cut the paperwork burden is to increase the number of staff as recommended by the Senate inquiry into aged care.

"The real test for the Minister Julie Bishop is whether she is prepared to improve the industry and adopt the recommendations that came out of the inquiry.

"The bi-partisan Senate inquiry report last week said:

• The quality of care would be better if a new benchmark of care that increased staffing numbers was put in place;

• Urgent steps needed to be taken to increase undergraduate and industry training;

• Pay levels for personal carers and nurses in the industry fall well short of the acute sector and need to be increased;

• That accreditation standards be rewritten to make it clearer what homes had to do;

• Scrutiny of the industry needed to be dramatically increased with the current regime of spot checks totally inadequate.

"This is a blueprint for better aged care in Australia which the government should follow."

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