The Albanese Government is delivering on its commitment to put nurses back into nursing homes.
Registered nurses are now on-site in aged care homes 98 per cent of the time as a result of the Albanese Government’s 24/7 nursing commitment.
This Government promised Australians we would restore dignity to aged care residents, and our first month with 24/7 nursing has revealed a major increase in care with registered nurses in residential homes for 23.5 hours a day on average.
After just 15 months in office, our reforms have led to continuous improvement, with Quality Indicators and Star Ratings also showing positive increases.
24/7 registered nursing was a key recommendation of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety – it was ignored by Peter Dutton and the Coalition.
24/7 nursing improves the safety and quality of care for residents and prevents unnecessary trips to hospital emergency departments.
95 per cent of facilities have now reported their first month of data regarding 24/7 nursing.
The results are:
- on average, there is a registered nurse on-site in aged care homes 98 per cent of the time
- on average, there is a registered nurse on-site in aged care homes for 23.5 hours a day
- 86 per cent of facilities now have a nurse on-site 24/7
- the majority of the remaining homes are very close to 24/7 coverage
- we expect these numbers will continue to improve every month.
Additionally, the National Aged Care Mandatory Quality Indicator Program (QI Program) report for January to March 2023 has demonstrated improved quality of aged care for older people in Australia.
Star Ratings also now show that more residential aged care homes are at four and five stars and fewer are at one and two stars compared to when Star Ratings were first introduced in December 2022.
A new 24/7 registered nursing dashboard, which was released today on the Department of Health and Aged Care website, provides Australians with data on the level of 24/7 registered nursing being delivered across the residential aged care sector.
This continuous improvement in data reflects the collective impact of aged care reforms delivered by the Albanese Government and strong support from the aged care sector who are committed to providing the best possible care to residents.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Aged Care, Anika Wells:
“We introduced the 24/7 nursing requirement because older Australians deserve around-the-clock clinical care and this data reveals they are now, on average, receiving that care 98 per cent of the time, or 23.5 hours a day.
“This is what caring for some of our most vulnerable people looks like. I want to thank the nurses who voted with their feet and returned to aged care.
“I’m incredibly proud that we can now see Australia’s older generations – our mums and dads, grandparents and loved ones who live in aged care homes – are receiving the high-quality care and safety they deserve.
“I am not on this ambitious journey alone. I commend aged care workers and providers who have taken up this challenge, and are working with the Government to lift the standard of care.
“24/7 registered nursing is not just a pass or fail. Data from across our aged care reforms continues to demonstrate a positive trajectory that we are confident will lift the standard of care in the aged care system even further with the introduction of mandatory care minutes targets on 1 October.”