Every aged care provider in the nation has faced the challenges of recruiting additional staff in recent months as the mandate for direct care minutes increased 7.5% to 215 care minutes, a reform that came into effect this week on Tuesday, 1 October 2024.
Russell Egan, the CEO of family-owned Superior Care Group which operates aged care homes in Brisbane and the Gold Coast, told The Weekly SOURCE the change has imposed "enormous Human Resources responsibilities" on providers.
"The AN-ACC requires additional loading to compensate," he proposed.
CEO of Superior Care Group
High levels of recruitment, coupled with staff "churn", consume precious aged care resources with interviewing, onboarding, training, assessment, performance management and removal of unsuitable employees.
While Superior Care has been "working towards" meeting the increased care minute targets, Russell is concerned that in the rush to hire new staff quality is being compromised, and staff agencies are the real beneficiaries of the scheme.
"The mandatory minutes regime has substituted quality of care for quantity of care," he told The SOURCE.
While there are many candidates for personal care roles, "the quality varies greatly and many simply bounce from home to home," Russell said.
"There is not a guarantee that new staff will have the necessary nursing skills or empathetic aptitude."
Filip for agency profits
The mandate has created an "unintended consequence" of boosting agency profits, drawing RNs to agencies rather than permanent employment, Russell said.
According to the March quarter Quarterly Financial Snapshot, 9.7% of total direct care staff minutes were delivered by agency staff, with the figure 14.3% for registered nurse minutes. In August, The Weekly SOURCE reported that the increased care minutes could mean agency fees cost providers millions.
"Throughout 2024, our agency staff usage has been unacceptably high," Russell observed.
Migration key to RN target - for some
The recruitment situation is particularly dire for Registered Nurses, where there remains a "severe shortage", Russell said.
"80% of present applicants are seeking sponsorship. We have embarked on several sponsorships and found it is an expensive, laborious and time consuming process which does not deliver short-term stability."
However, some providers have found sponsorship of overseas aged care workers, for example through the new Aged Care Industry Labour Agreements, key to meeting the increased targets.
Tom McConnell GM clinical care and services with Perth-based Not For Profit aged care provider Curtin Heritage Living told The SOURCE they are in the "fortunate" position of being able to meet the incoming increased care minute targets, and migration has been central to that.
