The Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality & Safety continues to seek submissions to its December 2019 Consultation Paper.  Submissions can now be made until the end of April 2020.

The  January closing date, as originally proposed, was awful, with many people distracted by holidays, bushfires, storms, floods and return to schol.  But the Royal Commission has recently indicated that it will accept submisisons until the end of April. So, there might still be time to engage!

It would be marvellous to hear what contribution the recruitment and staffing sector could make to the design of a more effective aged care workforce.

That’s because one of the key questions on which submisisons are being sought is:

How could the aged care and health systems work together to deliver care which better meets the complex health needs of older people, including dementia care as well as palliative and end of life care? What are the best models for these forms of care?

It’s an important question. Sadly, the Consultation Paper puts it in the context of numerous system deficiencies.

[The current system] struggles to attract and retain sufficient numbers of skilled, knowledgeable and competent staff (p.3).

…low levels of clinical staff and personal carers in residential care and poor interfaces with the health system mean that some people may not receive the level of nursing, allied health and personal care services they need and would otherwise have had access to within the community or from the health system. (p.13).

The majority of staff are personal care workers rather than nurses or allied health professionals.  (p.14).

The delivery of services to rural and remote geographical regions in Australia is complex and differs for every community. It is impacted by multiple socioeconomic factors and the physical environment, such as the high cost of goods, utilities, transport, fuel, food and vehicles. There is often limited access to most government services and a shortage of staff to support those services. (p.18).

I reckon it would make a huge difference to address the challenge of designing a better aged care workforce from the perspective of appreciating the resources we do have. And in that context, it would be marvellous to hear about the solutions that innovative and resourceful staffing & recruitment professionals could suggest!

So, I’d like urge the recruitment and staffing sector to engage with the questions that are being asked and see if there’s something fresh that can be brought to the table – befitting “Leaders in the World of Work”.

How about it?

Andrew C. Wood