NSW Nurses and Midwives Association are celebrating as Aged Care reforms come into effect from today to mandate certain care standards across the highly privatised Aged Care sector in NSW.

NSW Nurses and Midwives Association today posted on social media that they were celebrating:

• A registered Nurse on duty 24hrs a day, 7 days a week in residential aged care facilities and
• A minimum 215 minutes of care, per resident in these facilities, meaning lower staff to patient ratios.
• Greater transparency around public funding

Shaye Candish from the NSW Nurses and Midwives Association told The Lismore App "NSW nurses and midwives have been campaigning both the NSW and Federal Governments really strongly on this issue for a long time so we welcome the news that this reform has gone through to be mandated as of today, which for residents means they will have access to registered nurses 24/7.

"For people in residential care facilities, who are usually there because they are too unwell to remain at home, this means they receive a higher standard of safety and care that only a Registered Nurse, who has a broad skill set and training can deliver". 

"The Royal Commission showed some key indicators of the effect of this care, in terms of deteriorating patients, which showed in areas such as nutrition, dental hygiene, increased mortality and morbidity rates, lots of issues that are all frankly preventable, and the whole issue of people going into aged care should be about getting support but also to have a good quality of life, and Nurses are fundamental to making sure that happens."

Shaye also said, "in regards to the way funding is spent, primary care is what is important we believe when looking at aged care, and while facilities prior to these reforms may have been able to spend money on capital works, for example, we feel that it's not as important to have a facility which looks great, but isn't staffed properly, so we welcome this shift towards care-focused, clinical need spending".

The Government’s 2022-23 October Budget responds directly to 23 of the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety.

According to the NSW Government website, these aged care reforms will:

• Deliver fair and responsive residential and in-home aged care services.
• Provide targeted assistance for older Australians with diverse backgrounds, experiences and care needs.
• Build a strong, valued and qualified aged care workforce.
• Ensure a more transparent and accountable aged care sector with independent oversight.

"Older Australians, their families and carers will benefit from a fair, responsive, and accountable aged care sector. The new measures will:

• make sure aged care residents have access to a registered nurse in every aged care facility on site, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
• enable a sector average of 215 care minutes per resident per day
• ensure better food for aged care residents
• provide tailored support for older people with disability
• increase access to culturally safe care for First Nations Elders and older Australians from diverse communities
• limit the amount home care recipients can be charged in administration and management fees
• redesign in-home aged care to meet the changing needs of older Australians
• empower older Australians to make informed choices
• introduce stronger regulation and independent oversight to protect older Australians from neglectful practices.

Aged care workers will be trained, valued and recognised for the complex and critical services they provide. The reforms will:

• improve pathways for employment with a national registration scheme
• set clear expectations with a new Code of Conduct
• provide opportunities for training and support
• improve ICT platforms to ease administrative burden
• strengthen protections for people that reports inappropriate practices.

Aged care providers will be supported in the transition to new reporting requirements, funding and regulations, including:

• fair pricing and funding arrangements for in-home and residential aged care
• funding to adjust to the Australian National Aged Care Classification (AN-ACC)
• more subsidies to meet increased nursing requirements
• greater transparency measures to create an open market where providers compete on quality of care
• establishing independent oversight to hold providers accountable
• local Department of Health and Aged Care contact to identify issues and solutions.

Shaye went on to say "This is really exciting reform and this is just one of the first steps of many that is needed to reform aged care and its absolutely vital to have these measures in place for all of our family members who are in aged care, who we love dearly and who deserve nothing less."

"NSW Nurses and Midwives is celebrating these reforms and will continue to support Nurses and Midwives across the sector, and to ensure we are able to meet the needs of those within our community, and those who care for them directly."

A spokesperson for Uniting Care who has aged care facilities here in Lismore and Goonellabah said "while we welcome these reforms across the industry, for our regional centres in Lismore, we have already been meeting these standards."