The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (Vic Branch) Secretary Lisa Fitzpatrick says unlike the Turnbull Government, the Andrews Government is “investing in aged care staff and further developing their skills.”
“On 14 October 2014, the community joined ANMF members on the steps of parliament, fighting the Liberal Government’s privatisation of public nursing homes.”
“Daniel Andrews committed on that day to build a stronger Victorian public aged care sector, and today we are growing the workforce and building a new public nursing home.”
Now the Victorian Government will provide the $1.1 million for a three-day ‘Comprehensive health assessment of older people’ program to be delivered to around 800 public sector aged care registered and enrolled nurses through their ANMF Education Centre from September.
In 2015, the Andrews Government also legislated minimum nurse to resident ratios – of one nurse to seven residents plus one nurse in charge for morning shifts; one nurse to eight residents plus one nurse in charge for afternoon shifts; and one nurse to 15 residents on night shifts – for Victoria’s public aged care homes, which cover around 5,200 residents.
The ANMF compares this to the ‘undefined and unenforceable’ staffing levels for private and for-profit homes under the federal Aged Care Act 1997, where providers have a responsibility “to maintain an adequate number of appropriately skilled staff to ensure that the care needs of care recipients are met”, and apply to around 48,000 residents in Victoria.
But with over 268,000 fee-paying members across Australia, we have to ask: why can’t the ANMF pay for their training course themselves?
The ANMF joins the Victorian education union who last week were sending letters to school principals promoting the Andrews Government ahead of the November state election.
That’s a lot of potential Labor voters …
