Mandated staff levels called for

Dunedin aged-care workers made an impassioned case for increased staffing at rest homes yesterday, describing shifts where one staff member was left responsible for 50 people and being routinely asked to work double shifts due to absences.

Unions Etu and the New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) have been holding
stop-work meetings throughout the country to demand a mandatory safe staffing level in aged-care facilities.

About 50 people attended yesterday’s meeting at the Zingari-Richmond rugby clubrooms.

Shaun McCommon, an aged-care worker for 17 years, said recruiting and retaining workers in rest-homes had always been difficult and that it had only become harder in recent times.

Those shortages meant workers were being stretched to the limit and residents were not receiving the care they deserved.

"We just had two leave this week from where I work ... and the complexity of the needs of the people who are coming in are increasing," he said.

"When I go to work, as I am tonight, and you are already worrying if you will be the only person on the roster, you are already in the framework of ‘how bad is this going to be?’

"I don’t want to work like that, I want to go to work to do the best I can and to walk out feeling that I have done a good job and made a difference."

Marita Ansin-Johnson, who has worked in the sector for 13 years, said she loved working with the residents but the system which employed and paid aged-care workers was not meeting the needs of staff or the elderly.

"It’s hard work, and staff shortages make it even harder, especially if you are looking after residents with dementia."

NZNO organiser Colette Wright said every aged-care facility was constantly recruiting for staff, including nurses, healthcare assistants and support staff.

However, a combination of uncompetitive pay rates and closed borders meant rest-homes and villages were almost daily faced with a challenge to fill rosters.

"We are constantly working with fewer people ... there are so few staff, even when the roster is full, that they can spend no more than 12 minutes a shift with a resident on average.

"If another resident requires something that is high-need such as a shower, other residents might only get six minutes of hands-on care, and that doesn’t meet anyone’s perception of what it is to give care.

"That is why we need mandated minimum staffing."

mike.houlahan@odt.co.nz