Our federal politicians have been debating a series of bills that will establish the Royal Commission into Aged Care, recently announced by the Prime Minister. The Lamp looks at what some of them had to say about the state of the sector. 

Susan Templeman –Macquarie, NSW (ALP)

“I want to take a moment to talk about three aged-care workers in my community who have for many years been arguing for workforce issues to be addressed. Nurses and Midwives Association members Jocelyn Hofman, Annette Peters and Shirley Ross-Shuley have been fierce advocates for improvement in aged-care nurse wages and conditions and for quotas, and I support them in that call. They know what they’re talking about. They have experienced appalling situations of having to look after too many people, with not enough qualified staff.”

Luke Howarth – Petrie, QLD (LIB)

“The message is clear: Any person or organisation doing the wrong thing will be found. We won’t stand for substandard care, and we have included the option to shut down an operator who is doing the wrong thing as part of the broader reforms.”

Chris Hayes – Fowler, NSW (ALP) 

“Staff are increasingly working in unsafe workplaces, doing increasingly demanding work and spending longer time at work. Many of them are getting less pay than people who are working in our fast-food outlets. Can you imagine? Nurses are looking after older Australians – changing their nappies, regrettably, and doing all that work, trying to show dignity and care – and many of them are getting paid less than the people who work at McDonald’s!”

Dr Mike Freelander – Macarthur, NSW (ALP)

“Adequate pay and having enough qualified people are essential to getting things right. The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation, representing one of Australia’s most respected callings, agrees.”

Keith Pitt – Hinkler, QLD (Lib) 

“If you live in a regional area, you are linked to that community, and it is important that those communities are provided with the opportunity that services provide in the capital cities. You should not have to move to a capital city simply to be provided with aged-care services. So I commend the bill to the House.”

Patrick Gorman – Perth, WA (ALP) 

“Firstly, the staff do not get paid properly. We’ve got to be honest about that if we are going to grow and build this sector for the future. Secondly, we need adequate ratios of qualified staff, qualified carers, qualified nurses and all of the other health and professional workers who engage with the sector.”

Lisa Chesters – Bendigo, VIC (ALP) 

“There are regular reports of there not being qualified nurses on, that people who are sick aren’t replaced and that programming has been cut, and there are questions about the quality of the food.  I do support ratios. We need to look at making sure that we’ve got ratios where we are reaching the complex care that’s required.”

Peter Khalil – Wills, VIC (ALP)

“I support their campaign around funding, as to increasing the ratios in the system and the staffing issues generally. Fixing these issues will undoubtedly improve quality of care for some of the most vulnerable members of our society and concurrently improve the conditions of some of our least appreciated workers. The royal commission can’t be an excuse for inaction by this government.”

Bert Van Manen – Forde, QLD (LIB)

“It’s disappointing, in some respects, that we seem regularly in this place to have to legislate for entities and organisations in our communities to do the right thing by their fellow Australians. Be that as it may, when we do identify these issues it is our responsibility to put in place legislation and regulation to deal with the shortcomings we are seeing in our community.”

Joanne Ryan – Lalor, Vic (ALP)

“The Royal Commission will shine a light on things, but we know now what many of the issues are. We know that there are issues in terms of staff ratios. We know that there are issues in terms of the quality of care. These things need to be addressed immediately.”

Anne Stanley –Werriwa, NSW (ALP)

“Given the revelations of Four Corners, it seems that the quality of aged care has not improved and this just isn’t good enough. There has been report after report about the situation.”

Brian Mitchell – Lyons, TAS (ALP)

“This is a matter of priorities, and I know that my priority as a parliamentarian is to ensure that elderly Australians live out the final years of their lives with dignity. We need more staff, better wages and better conditions for those who undertake the important work of caring for our elderly.”

Things you can do

The NSWNMA and the ANMF continue to campaign to Make Ratios in Aged Care Law. You can help join the campaign and:

Like us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/MoreStaffForAgedCare

Go to timeforruby.anmf.org.au to tell your politician that you want aged care staff ratio laws

Download resources (http://anmf.org.au/pages/ratios-for-aged-care-campaign-resources) and help spread the word about the campaign.

Letters to the Editor
Share your thoughts on this article or anything else important to you as nurses and midwives by sending a Letter to the Editor.

Four letters are published in the Lamp each month and the letter chosen as Letter of the Month will win a gift card. Please include a high-resolution photo along with your name, address, phone and membership number. You can submit your letter by emailing the Lamp:lamp@nswnma.asn.au