Consultation Paper – Expansion of the National Aged Care Mandatory Quality

As identified by the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety (the Royal Commission), the linkages and intersections between the aged and health sectors must be improved and acknowledged.1 Nursing care delivered by registered nurses (RNs) and enrolled nurses (ENs) in the aged care setting must be considered as specialist contexts of practice, in the same way it would in the primary care. [...] Further, the ANMF believes that aged care providers, policymakers, and government, have largely minimised the health care component of aged care over the past decade, resulting in older Australian’s not receiving an adequate level of care and deteriorating at undue rates while in aged 4 Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation / Consultation Paper – Expansion of the National Aged Care Mandatory. [...] Results of the National Aged Care Staffing and Skills Mix Project Report 2016 identified aged care staffing and skill mix as deficient and not fit for purpose, resulting in high rates of missed care.4,5 Based on empirical evidence the report makes a recommendation on the level of care required in residential aged care facilities, expressed as the duration of direct care per resident per day4: • An. [...] Addressing staffing and workforce issues requires government commitment to address structural deficits of the skills and mix of the current workforce and recognise the unique contribution of nursing staff in the aged care context. [...] A draft of this Standard has been included as Appendix A and is intended to describe the responsibilities and obligations of providers in ensuring that the direct and indirect workforce has the capability and capacity to deliver safe and high-quality care that meets the individual needs of older people.