00:00There's certainly been a lot of work done and put into this Aged Care Act, but what
00:08has always worried advocacy groups, and I think they're all as one with this, is that
00:14perhaps we're putting the cart before the horse a little bit because we have never attempted
00:20to keep up with the number of workers that will be required. And particularly with community
00:27care, there's some pretty horrific stories. A number of years ago, particularly in Victoria
00:33when many municipalities ceased providing aged care services, that a thousand clients
00:41for instance in the Mornington Peninsula, and there are many articles in the Daily Press
00:45on this, were just left without care. Some of them, and they would have tried to rate
00:52them as far as need, but they were left with up to six months when they were getting no
00:58services whatsoever.
01:00And did you hear much of a mention at all about workforce in yesterday's announcement?
01:05Look, certainly the Minister in her statement, I think it was after the second reading to
01:11Parliament, has certainly made a mention of workforce, so I think they are aware. But
01:18there have been issues all along, because particularly with just the carer workforce,
01:25there is absolutely no mandated skill level, for instance. And the issues have been that
01:33the attrition rate, if you look at the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, the various
01:38reports that are out, we are losing staff faster than they're able to recruit them,
01:44conduct them, and train them.
01:46Look, I really think there needs to be a big, I think, rethink about how we recruit people.
01:55Many of our workers in aged care, whether it be in residential care or in the community,
02:02some of them are, or many of them are, up to 58% I believe, is something I read, are
02:08migrants. They have English as a second language, which is an advantage when you're dealing
02:13with cold communities, but really have not a lot of concept of the kind of clients they
02:23are dealing with, even cleaning, infection control when people are ill, food service,
02:30that kind of thing. There is not a great deal of training. The providers, to give them credit,
02:37try and provide training. Many of them have smartphones and they have resources. But from
02:46the anecdotal stories that we hear from people that contact aged care justice and contact aged
02:52care reform, the services can be not suited to what's required.
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