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 Home News General
ALP Backs Aged Care Workers and Families01 February 2004The Health Services Union will push ahead with its call for a Senate inquiry into aged care after securing the backing of the ALP national conference yesterday. The national conference in Sydney also for the first time ever changed the party platform to include a commitment to introduce minimum staffing levels into all nursing homes when Labor wins government. HSU national secretary Craig Thomson said the decisions by conference delegates showed the party was listening to staff and families and was committed to improving care levels. "The current government's approach has been to strip away the regulation of the industry and allow homes to employ as few staff as they want," he said. "This is despite clear evidence that under-staffing poses a serious health risk to residents and means an unsafe working environment for staff. "Its basically survival of the fittest at the moment. One staffmember to 80 residents is not uncommon. "Labor at least has the decency to commit to minimum staffing levels which will give every resident and their family a basic guarantee of care. It is not about one size fits all but about ensuring that there is a ratio of staff to residents that no facility can go below." The platform also recognises the need for tighter scrutiny of badly performing homes and for increases in the wages of care staff who are woefully under-paid in comparison with the acute care sector. Mr Thomson said he would write this week to the Democrats and minor party senators seeking their support for an inquiry into aged care which would look at staffing, training and the performance of the Aged Care Standards and Accreditation Agency. "If the government is so confident it is doing a great job in aged care it will support this inquiry,'' he said. "It is the best way to get the real facts on how the care of the most elderly is being affected by under-staffing and inadequate scrutiny. The motion calling for the Senate inquiry was moved by NSW ALP Senator Mike Forshaw during the debate on aged care. |
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© 2003 Health Services Union (HSU) |
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