INSIGHTS FROM INDUSTRY
THE HUMAN CHALLENGE OF AGED CARE NEW REPORT SHOWS HOW RESHAPING THE EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE COULD BE THE KEY TO SURVIVAL
T
he pandemic has revealed and amplified the challenges faced by health and care systems around the world— perhaps nowhere more than in the age services industry.
COVID-19 has strained aged care providers’ finances and capacity; it has increased insurance costs and liability risks; and it has raised infection, disability and mortality risks. Aged care providers face three key workforce-related risks: the workforce shortage, skills gaps, and health and safety challenges. Each of these have knock-on risks including decreased quality of care, increased operating costs, revenue loss and increased legal exposure. Now a new report Vital Signs: Workforce Challenges for Senior Care shows what can be done about it.
Risk one: The workforce shortage
Population ageing has outpaced growth in the supply of senior care workers in three-quarters of OECD countries including Australia. A 2019 study estimated that 57 per cent of aged care residents in Australia live in understaffed facilities. The COVID-19 pandemic has only worsened this situation. The labour shortage can broadly be traced back to disproportionate demands on workers relative to rewards from the profession. The sector offers limited benefits and opportunities for career progression and, with starting pay for aged care workers only slightly above minimum wage, desire for better compensation is a key driver of attrition.
Risk two: Skills gaps
Some staff are under-equipped to provide high-quality care as patient needs increase and grow more complex. Skills gaps vary, ranging from knowledge of care provision—in areas ranging from nutrition and medication management to more specialised geriatric, dementia and palliative care—to soft skills around understanding and communicating with patients and providing culturally responsive care that meets social and emotional needs of patients from diverse backgrounds.
Risk three: Health and safety challenges
The pandemic has exacerbated the health and safety risks aged care workers face in their roles. Staff have been on the front lines of the pandemic, while faced with a heavy workload and sometimes inadequate training for disease management, precarious employment, lack of adequate Personal Protective Equipment, and uneven distribution of Rapid Antigen Tests. In residential facilities, the cumulative total of staff COVID-19 cases since the beginning of the pandemic (21,705) exceeded the number of resident cases (18,880) at the end of February 2022 (COVID-19 outbreaks in Australian
Short-staffing increases demand on existing workers, leading to increased burnout, lower morale and higher attrition. This presents knock-on risks for providers such as decreased quality of care from staff stretched too thin, and increased operational costs from having to use more casual and temporary agency staff.
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