Further clarity around how aged care will be funded into the future is needed to ensure the sector adequately addresses unsafe staffing levels, according to Tasmania's nurses union.
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Among the 148 recommendations from the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety's final report, were numerous actions to improve the capability and work conditions of carers.
It also calls for better wages and a new national registration scheme for all personal care workers, including minimum staff time standards for residential care.
Under the proposals, by July 2022 aged care providers would be required to engage nurses and personal care workers for at least 200 minutes, per resident per day.
The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation, who was involved in every hearing of the Royal Commission and made multiple submissions, has welcomed the final report.
However, Tasmania branch secretary Emily Shepherd said there was still a lot of work to be done to ensure tragedies of the past weren't repeated.
"We need to see the care go back into aged care and we know that to do that, there needs to be additional staff put in and care hours increased," she said.
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"Key highlights [of the report] from out perspective is the commitment that every resident in aged care settings should have 200 minutes of care per day. That's significant.
"However, we know there are some aged care facilities in Tasmania that only deliver about 40 minutes of care, by our calculations, per resident, per day. So we have a long way to go."
In a recent ANMF Tasmania members survey with more than 150 respondents working within aged care, more than 80 per cent reported that staff to resident ratios were unsafe.
A further 60 per cent also cited health and safety concerns in their workplace, ranging from mental health matters, burnout, and compassion fatigue.
Responding to the final report, the federal government has already committed $452 million to bolster the sector, including $98.1 million to increase workforce levels.
However, Ms Shepherd said future funding arrangements would need to be closely analysed.
"There is no doubt that additional funding is needed long-term, but we need to look at how that is contributed to by everyone involved in the sector," she said.
"The commissioners in this report have said that some of the treatment and lack of quality care that's been delivered to those in aged care should be a national shame.
"So I think for the federal government not to immediately act on the recommendations in this report would be just absolutely devastating for everyone involved."
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