Aspects of Aged Care Workforce Plan

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Aged Care Workers’ Role and Needs
Policies that Support Aged Care Workforce
Recommendations
Conclusion
References

Introduction

With the shift in the global population toward long life, a drastic increase in the number of older people requiring services of aged care facilities led this industry to a crisis. There is a necessity to reimagine the current approach through careful planning that will accommodate the needs of nurses, regular employees, and their clients into a single system. At the same time, some policies attempt to regulate this sector, although their requirements, such as a constant presence of a registered nurse in every elderly care facility, are facing significant difficulties (Daniel, 2022). Australia needs to combine the accumulated knowledge with prospects in the renewed aged care sector while using evidence to guide any decisions. This paper will analyze the current and future aged care workers’ roles, and policies that support them, and propose strategies that will ensure that the sector remains stable and suffices the population’s needs.

Aged Care Workers’ Role and Needs

Due to the nature of aged and disability care facilities, their employees cover a diverse variety of services. First and foremost, this workforce ensures that the lives of senior Australians are not disrupted by their decreasing health status by assisting with daily activities and assessments of their physical and mental well-being (Australian Government Department of Health, 2022). Registered nurses play a critical role in this process through clinical procedures and analyses, as well as by connecting older Australians with specialists. Despite their low numbers, they lead this industry through planning and developing better strategies. Upholding the clinically approved routines among facilities is the job that lies primarily in this part of the workforce. The current tasks of people enrolled in this sector are already extreme in their complexity, yet there are newly recognized needs and long-standing deficiencies that have to be addressed.

The future goals must weigh the modern societal needs of an individual. Due to globalization, aged care workers must become proficient in more specific treatment requirements they may encounter. For example, there is an increase in patients with difficult conditions, such as dementia, that require disability care services (“Government acknowledges aged care workforce needs to triple by 2050 to support an aging population,” 2022). Employees must learn to excel at decision-making and autonomy while remaining focused on peer support and positive communication. There is also a necessity to improve cooperation through a mutual assessment of burnout factors that currently plague this industry.

There are significant obstacles that adversely affect the quality of care provided by aged care workers. There is an identified prevalence of stress, depression, and anxiety among this population that leads to mass job dissatisfaction (Maharaj et al., 2018). The occupational environment only adds fuel to this issue. In addition to the high workload, employees in this industry are often met with physical violence and verbal abuse (Lee et al., 2022). The nature of this job puts its employees at risk. High levels of occupational stress are also linked to the death and severe illnesses of aged care workers’ clients (Spetz et al., 2019). All these factors must be addressed by future policies.

Policies that Support Aged Care Workforce

The rapid expansion of the aged care industry has led to a multitude of regulations that aim to increase the quality of provided services and protect both employees and their clients. The government recognizes the importance of this sector and utilizes evidence from surveys of aged care workers in developing plans (Aged Care Workforce Industry Council, 2021). Facilities from this industry are met with support, although much remains to be desired. There is a minimum amount of time per patient that is required by law, yet policies that ensure this fact have gaps that lead to wage theft and underpayment (Macdonald et al., 2018). The current course, especially in the pathways for growth it provides, has a significant amount of issues with supporting the existing workers. There are many young Australians in this industry who can not achieve permanent employment due to policies that lead to only part-time vacancies (Chesters & Cuervo, 2019). Therefore, the expansion of the current workforce is stunted by the existing policies, yet governmental support through accommodating employees’ voices in future policies is a positive indicator.

Moreover, there is a necessity to address the shortage of aged care workers that stems from the pressure of their work environment and the high turnover rates that follow this factor. As of now, some policies attempt to alleviate this situation through labor agreements for foreign employees from this industry (Reid et al., 2020). However, they can only assist in the short term and create a gap between the imported workforce and the existing one. This factor may lead to a decrease in the appeal of this career path, making it essential to review the current strategy.

Recommendations

There are modifications to the current workforce support plan that can further improve the situation. First and foremost, retaining employees through alleviation of the primary factors that lead to high turnover rates must be taken into consideration over attracting new hires. Burnout will not occur if the workload does not exceed one’s resources, both physical and mental (Mills et al., 2020). Therefore, policies must focus on workers’ well-being by providing them with courses on mental health, therapy sessions to alleviate stress and greater control over one’s schedule. For example, employees can be trained on proper coping techniques, such as mindfulness meditation, exercise, and emotional boundaries (Badu et al., 2020). The psychological well-being of an aged care worker must be considered a high-priority goal for future policies.

Furthermore, accumulating and sharing the knowledge required in this industry must become a priority as well. Training centers must be established in each region that will provide training for all aged care workers up to modern standards in the form of higher education linked with nursing skill sets (Australian Government Department of Health, 2022). For the greater success of this policy, opportunities to develop one’s skills even further must be given. It will be required not only to uphold but to update one’s qualifications in this sector to cover emerging needs and ensure the potential for career growth (Australian Government Department of Health, 2022). The future workforce must be able to handle a crisis similar to COVID-19 with greater success. Such training must assess one’s capacity for empathy and efficient communication just as much as professional skills.

With the current shortage of registered nurses among the aged care workforce, it is vital to give students of healthcare educational facilities a feasible path toward becoming a worker in this industry. This method will require the government to update its policies on job arrangements for better transparency, reimbursements, and benefits (Thompson, 2021). Another vital step is to provide older Australians with care that will accommodate their cultural background. This change will require policies that promote taking up this career path to different socioeconomic communities. For example, there is an insignificant amount of hires from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds, which leads to discrimination (Wright et al., 2019). Lastly, the financial support of workers and their employers must be reviewed. Allocating more funds for the benefit of experienced employees and training new ones can attract people to stay in aged care (Xiao et al., 2020). This combination of adjustments should lead to an increase in the quality of care by motivating and supporting all involved stakeholders.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the current plan accommodates some of the adverse factors that can lead to a decrease in the quality of care, yet it remains essential to eliminate the issues that diminish the knowledge pool. Retaining high-skilled employees remains a priority that must be focused on all available resources. This change of direction should lead to an increase in positive views on this career path among younger generations. Registered nurses must also be attracted through better opportunities and more protections provided to them in comparison with the current situation and other healthcare sectors. Workers’ burnout must be dealt with through new courses, potentials, and benefits for mental and physical health. Their voices must be heard for the betterment of society, as the current state of policies related to this industry paints a dire perspective for people who want to join it. Ultimately, patients of aged care facilities will have a better living by experiencing more compassionate, skilled, and motivated workers.

References

Aged Care Workforce Industry Council. (2021). Aged care sector invited to participate in redesign.

Australian Government Department of Health. (2022). Aged care workforce action plan: 2022–2025. Web.

Badu, E., O’Brien, A. P., Mitchell, R., Rubin, M., James, C., McNeil, K., Nguyen, K., & Giles, M. (2020). Workplace stress and resilience in the Australian nursing workforce: A comprehensive integrative review. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 29(1), 5-34.

Chesters, J., & Cuervo, H. (2019). Adjusting to new employment landscapes: Consequences of precarious employment for young Australians. The Economic and Labour Relations Review, 30(2), 222-240.

Daniel, D. (2022). ‘Miss the boat’: Plan to import aged care workers as shortage deepens.The Sydney Morning Herald.

Government acknowledges aged care workforce needs to triple by 2050 to support an ageing population. (2022). Mable. Web.

Lee, H. Y., Short, S., Lee, M., Jeon, Y., Park, E., & Chin, Y. (2022). Improving the quality of long-term care services in workforce dimension: Expert views from Australia and South Korea. Archives of Public Health, 80(1).

Macdonald, F., Bentham, E., & Malone, J. (2018). Wage theft, underpayment and unpaid work in marketised social care.The Economic and Labour Relations Review, 29(1), 80-96.

Maharaj, S., Lees, T., & Lal, S. (2018). Prevalence and risk factors of depression, anxiety, and stress in a cohort of Australian nurses. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(1), 61.

Mills, J., Ramachenderan, J., Chapman, M., Greenland, R., & Agar, M. (2020). Prioritising workforce wellbeing and resilience: What COVID-19 is reminding us about self-care and staff support. Palliative Medicine, 34(9), 1137-1139.

Reid, A., Ronda‐Perez, E., & Schenker, M. B. (2020). Migrant workers, essential work, and COVID‐19.American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 64(2), 73-77.

Spetz, J., Stone, R. I., Chapman, S. A., & Bryant, N. (2019). Home and community-based workforce for patients with serious illness requires support to meet growing needs.Health Affairs, 38(6), 902-909.

Thompson, I. (2021). Attracting more workers to aged care isn’t easy, but here’s where we can start.Nous Group.

Wright, A., Briscoe, K., & Lovett, R. (2019). A national profile of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workers, 2006–2016.Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 43(1), 24-26.

Xiao, L. D., Harrington, A., Mavromaras, K., Ratcliffe, J., Mahuteau, S., Isherwood, L., & Gregoric, C. (2020). Care workers’ perspectives of factors affecting a sustainable aged care workforce. International Nursing Review, 68(1), 49-58.

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