On behalf of the Australian College of Nursing (ACN), Ageing Policy Chapter Chair Professor Deborah Parker MACN, presented evidence to the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety in Adelaide yesterday.
The primary recommendations from ACN's submission to the Royal Commission include calling for:
- Unlicensed health care workers (however titled) to be regulated
- A Registered Nurse to be on-site and available in the resident area at all times in residential aged care facilities
- Skills-mix modelling to be considered when determining safe and appropriate staffing levels to care for Older Australians.
ACN advocates for tougher sanctions on providers who do not meet standards, and closure of facilities that fail to provide acceptable standards of care.
ACN CEO Adjunct Professor Kylie Ward is available to speak on ACN's position on aged care in this country. Adjunct Professor Ward has more than two decades of experience as a Nurse Leader, and a senior level Health and Aged Care executive and a clinical background in intensive care and aged care nursing.
Link to transcript: https://agedcare.royalcommission.gov.au/hearings/Documents/transcripts-2019/transcript-13-february-2019.pdf
Link to ACN submission: https://www.acn.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/submission-to-royal-commission-into-aged-care-quality-safety.pdf
