Failure to maintain staffing numbers and nursing care levels in Australian aged care facilities is a disgrace

In June 1999, a little over a year into the first term of the Howard Coalition Government,  there were an estimated 132,420 older Australians in residential aged care facilities, with 61 per cent having “high care” dependency status.  

Between 1994 and 1999 there was a 13.9% decrease in the number of registered nurses and a 26.0% decrease in the number of enrolled nurses, so that by 1999 there were 19,517 registered nurses employed full-time in residential aged care facilities and 13,818 enrolled nurses.

A decade later and the percentage of registered nurses working in residential aged care facilities fell from 11 per cent (or 18,313 individuals) in 2003 to 8 per cent (or 16,431 individuals) in 2009 and the number of enrolled nurses fell from 29 per cent (or 12,933) to 21 per cent (or 10,030) in 2009.

In 2011 the number of permanent residents in aged care numbered an est. 165,032 people.

By 2012 the percentage of the residential aged care workforce being registered nurses or enrolled nurses working in residential aged care had only risen to 14.7 per cent (or 13,939 individuals) and 11.6 percent (or 10,999 individuals) respectively, which is an actual fall in total numbers of RNs & ENs in the aged care workforce.

During the course of the 2013–14 financial year 270,559 people were admitted to age care facilities either on a permanent or respite basis. Nationally in March 2014 registered nurses comprised 15.3% of the residential aged care workforce and enrolled nurses made up 21.9% [Aged and Community Services NSW & ACT].  By June 2014 the “high care” dependency level of aged care residents had risen to 83 percent.

However, in 2014 the Abbott Government changed the federal Aged Care Act 1997 in such a way that allowed residential aged care operators to reduce the number of registered nurses employed in their nursing homes, as well as deregulating fees charged and accommodation bonds levied. 

In response the NSW Government effectively grandfathers facilities subject to the current NSW Requirements for a period of 18 months in order to block any moves to reduce state legislated provision of a minimum of one registered nurse on duty 24/7 in nursing homes containing “high care” beds.  This reprieve appears to come to an end around February this year but the state government’s formal response to the NSW Legislative Council report it ordered is not due until 29 April.

Meanwhile The Sydney Morning Herald reported on 1 January 2016 that: The profits of aged care homes surged 40 per cent in the past year as operators cut hours of nursing care while claiming higher payments from the federal government for servicing more of the most frail patients. The earnings boom in the sector comes after the government introduced widespread reforms of aged care in 2014…Yet while nursing homes report they are looking after more needy residents, the time spent caring for them declined by 7 per cent over the past year. In 2015, hours by care staff (nurses, care assistants and therapists) fell from 42.71 hours per fortnight to 39.80 hours per fortnight. At 2.8 hours a day, the average is well below the minimum of 4.5 hours per day of nursing care mandated in the US, said Lynda Saltarelli from the Aged Care Crisis advocacy group."Australia has no recommended levels for staffing," she said. "Over half of all nursing homes in Australia have nursing levels so low that most residents suffer harm."

Australia currently has about 2,800 residential aged care facilities providing care to more than 160,000 elderly people. Over the next ten years, the number of residents is projected to reach more than 250,000 and the highest area of growth will be among residents aged 95 or over. During that same ten-year period the number of registered nurses and enrolled nurses employed in aged care facilities is expected to further decline, according to Health Workforce Australia.

Prime Minister Malcolm Bligh Turnbull and his Cabinet need to take a long hard look at this mess and use legislation and regulations to raise these staffing levels and hours of care received before the next federal election.

The issue is not going unnoticed by voters……

Letter to the Editor, The Age 3 January 2016:

Low nursing levels, low level of care

It is outrageous that nursing homes do not have recommended staffing levels. Elderly people with dementia or Alzheimer's disease – and who, in some cases, have paid bonds of hundreds of thousands of dollars as well as continuing monthly payments – deserve the best possible care. By law, childcare organisations have staff ratios yet children are able to learn and notify carers if they are in pain, hungry or need to be toileted. Dementia patients cannot do this and will only become more in need of care as their condition worsens. Thankfully my mother, who has late-stage Alzheimer's disease, is in a wonderful facility. However, in my search for a good home, I saw many where up to 15 dementia patients were cared for by one staff member. With an ageing society, the number of people entering nursing homes will increase, profits will continue to soar and our most vulnerable citizens will suffer. Staff ratios must be put in place.

Annie Jones, West Melbourne [my red bolding]

Twitter: no trolls, bullies, haters or racists allowed

Twitter has updated its abusive behaviour policy:

Abusive Behavior

We believe in freedom of expression and in speaking truth to power, but that means little as an underlying philosophy if voices are silenced because people are afraid to speak up. In order to ensure that people feel safe expressing diverse opinions and beliefs, we do not tolerate behavior that crosses the line into abuse, including behavior that harasses, intimidates, or uses fear to silence another user’s voice.

Any accounts and related accounts engaging in the activities specified below may be temporarily locked and/or subject to permanent suspension.

* Violent threats (direct or indirect): You may not make threats of violence or promote violence, including threatening or promoting terrorism. 

* Harassment: You may not incite or engage in the targeted abuse or harassment of others.

Some of the factors that we may consider when evaluating abusive behavior include:

o   if a primary purpose of the reported account is to harass or send abusive messages to others;

o   if the reported behavior is one-sided or includes threats;

o   if the reported account is inciting others to harass another account; and

o   if the reported account is sending harassing messages to an account from multiple accounts.

* Hateful conduct: You may not promote violence against or directly attack or threaten other people on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, religious affiliation, age, disability, or disease. We also do not allow accounts whose primary purpose is inciting harm towards others on the basis of these categories. 

*Multiple account abuse: Creating multiple accounts with overlapping uses or in order to evade the temporary or permanent suspension of a separate account is not allowed.

* Private information: You may not publish or post other people's private and confidential information, such as credit card numbers, street address, or Social Security/National Identity numbers, without their express authorization and permission. In addition, you may not post intimate photos or videos that were taken or distributed without the subject's consent. Read more about our private information policy here.

* Impersonation: You may not impersonate others through the Twitter service in a manner that is intended to or does mislead, confuse, or deceive others. Read more about our impersonation policy here.

Tony Abbott's propaganda machine running at full throttle

Federal Member for Warringah Tony Abbott’s personal website is up and running again – with its entire history before 15 September 2015 conveniently wiped from memory and, at the timing of writing, there is only limited pre-prime ministership access to this site via the Wayback Machine.

The former prime minister has also rewritten his biography page on the current version of the website. 

Here is a transcript of that page with my annotations in red for your enjoyment:

Tony Abbott was elected Prime Minister by the Australian people on 7 September 2013 and served for two years. Prime ministers and parliamentary party leaders are not elected by the people but by government MPs & senators. His time as prime minister commenced on 18 September 2013 and he was sacked as party leader and prime minister by Liberal Party MPs & senators on 15 September 2015 so he was not prime minister for a full two years.

In his time as Prime Minister, the carbon tax and the mining tax were repealed; free trade agreements were finalised with China, Japan and Korea; and the people smuggling trade from Indonesia to Australia was halted. Australia became the second largest military contributor to the US-led campaign against ISIL in Iraq and hosted the G20 meeting of global leaders in Brisbane in November 2014. Australia is not the second largest contributor to the US-led campaign against ISIL which commenced in August 2014. Australia entered the campaign in October 2014 with approximately 200 defence personnel, building up to around 780 personnel & 8 aircraft by September 2015. However by February 2015 France had in excess of 2,000 defence personnel deployed on the ground & aboard an aircraft carrier and frigate, plus over forty aircraft on active duty by September 2015.

In 2014 and again in 2015, he spent a week running the government from a remote indigenous community. In 2014 Abbott spent barely 4 days in Arnhem Land arriving on 14 September & leaving on 18 September. In 2015 he managed almost 5 full days, arriving in the morning on 23 August & leaving around midday on 28 August.

As Opposition Leader at the 2010 election, he reduced a first term Labor government to minority status before comprehensively winning the 2013 election.

Between 1996 and 2007, he was successively parliamentary secretary, minister, cabinet minister and Leader of the House of Representatives in the Howard government.

As Minister for Health, he expanded Medicare to include dentists, psychologists and other health professionals and resolved the medical indemnity crisis. Abbott did not become Health Minister until 7 November 2003. The Howard Government began to provide financial assistance to United Medical Protection in May 2002 & the Medical Indemnity Act received assent on 19 December 2002. When he became Minister for Health & Ageing he merely continued this financial assistance. Medical insurance premiums rose quickly in 2003 and then continued to trend upwards during his tenure in the health portfolio.

As Minister for Workplace Relations, he boosted construction industry productivity through the establishment of a royal commission against union lawlessness. Abbott held this ministry from January 2001 until October 2003. The 2001-2003 Royal Commission into the Building and Construction Industry also looked at construction companies, employers & workplace safety. Construction industry productivity levels actually began to fall in the 2002-03 financial year.

As Minister for Employment Services, he developed private-sector job placement services and Work for the Dole for long-term unemployed people.

Tony Abbott has been Member for Warringah in the Australian Parliament since 1994.

Prior to entering parliament, he was a journalist with The Australian, a senior adviser to Opposition Leader John Hewson, and director of Australians for Constitutional Monarchy. Abbott forgot to mention his 1987 stint as a full-time journalist at The Bulletin newspaper and then his brief career as manager of a Pioneer Concrete plant.

He has degrees in economics and law from Sydney University and an MA in politics and philosophy from Oxford which he attended as a Rhodes Scholar.

He is the author of three books.

Since 1998, he has convened the Pollie Pedal annual charity bike ride which has raised more than $4 million for medical research, indigenous health scholarships and Carers Australia.

Tony Abbott does surf patrols with the Queenscliff Surf Life Saving Club and is a former deputy captain in the Davidson Rural Fire Brigade.

He is married to Margaret and they are the proud parents of three daughters – Louise, Frances and Bridget.

NSW Rental Tenancy Law Review community consultation closes 26 January 2016

NSW Fair Trading website:

The NSW Government is reviewing the Residential Tenancies Act 2010 (the Act). The Act establishes a comprehensive set of rights and obligations for:   
  *landlords 

 * tenants

 * social housing providers

 * real estate agents who act for landlords.    
     

As part of this review, you are now invited to view a Discussion Paper to help you consider improvements to the current laws. This consultation closes on 29 January 2016. Read more about how you can have your say below.  

What are we doing?

Have your say

Next steps

Some rental horror stories are being recorded by The Greens Jenny Leong at https://www.facebook.com/events/1513744868919794/.

How will Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources Barnaby Joyce & Nationals MP Kevin Hogan handle local opposition to Turnbull Government's move to lower penalty rates?

Electorates in Northern New South Wales, such as Page and New England have an long-established tourism component in their local economies.

Both full-time, part-time and casual retail and hospitality workers play a big part in the tourism industry in these rural and regional areas, so it is interesting to note that local opposition to the Turnbull Government’s less than subtle move against weekend penalty rates in the retail and hospitality sectors is obviously on the radar of local voters.

The Australia Institute:

Polling in key Liberal and National Party seats shows strong opposition to reducing Sunday penalty rates for retail workers, according to new ReachTEL polling commissioned by The Australia Institute.

Polling conducted across the electorates of Page, New England, Warringah and Dickson on 17th December shows that between 65% and 79% of people in these electorates want Sunday penalty rates in the retail industry kept the same or increased.

“The research underscores the political difficulty any Government faces if they allow Sunday penalty rates to be cut,” said Ben Oquist, Executive Director of The Australia Institute.

“Furthermore the consequences for lowering Sunday penalty rates for the macro economy need to be considered. Lowering the take-home pay for many low paid employees, who are more likely to spend most of their income, could lower the amount of spending in the economy with negative flow on effects for economic growth and employment,” said Mr Oquist.

Page MP Kevin Hogan initially called these local concerns a beat up.

However, with media reporting the possibility that Page and Richmond workers losing a minimum est. $12.2 million and $11.8 million in total income respectively, this was perhaps not the wisest choice of words to use in an election year.

Given that in his own electorate 74.6 percent of all those of all those surveyed and 56 per cent of those Nationals supporters surveyed wanted penalty rates to increase or stay the same, attempting to brush aside valid concern in this way looks foolhardy to say the least.

Hogan appears to have realised this by 29 December and changed his tune when speaking to a Daily Examiner journalist: "I'm very cognisant that penalty rates are very important to many people who don't earn a lot of money….For a lot of people any extra benefit they get is very important to them. I'm yet to be sold there is an economic benefit in cutting penalty rates."

A statement that only the gullible would accept at face value, as his parliamentary voting record shows that he has never once voted against Abbott or Turnbull government legislation or spoken up strongly in the House of Representatives against their policies.

The Minister Agriculture and Water Resources, Barnaby Joyce, takes a different tack by saying that any changes to workplace laws including penalty rates would be taken to an election.  

With 70.7 percent of all those of all those surveyed and 56.9 per cent of those Nationals supporters surveyed wanting penalty rates to increase or stay the same, he will have to work hard to convince his own electorate that reducing these rates is not going to hit the New England economy hard.

Across rural New South Wales a partial abolition of penalty rates in the retail and hospitality sectors would result in workers losing between $118.9 million p.a. and $220.0 million p.a. with a  loss in disposable income of between $53.8 million p.a. and $106.2 million p.a. to local economies, according to research conducted by The McKell Institute.

Stocktake of waterbirds in eastern Australia has shown the lowest breeding level on record

ABC News 27 December 2015:

A stocktake of waterbirds in eastern Australia has shown the lowest breeding level on record.

The annual aerial survey, conducted by the Centre for Ecosystem Science at the University of NSW, confirmed a dramatic long-term decline in the number of waterbirds.

Director Richard Kingsford said that over 33 years of counting, average numbers had fallen more than 60 per cent.

The trend continued in 2015 with a further drop compared to the previous three-to-five-year period.

"This is the second lowest number of waterbirds we've seen in that 33-year period and it's symptomatic of the real impacts of this drought that's occurring across the eastern half of the continent," Professor Kingsford said.

The survey covered all the major rivers, lakes and wetlands from Queensland down through New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia, including the Murray-Darling Basin and the Riverina.

The team found the Macquarie Marshes and Lowbidgee wetlands were only partially filled, most rivers in the Murray-Darling Basin were also relatively dry, with little wetland habitat on their floodplains, and all the large lakes in the Menindee system were dry.

The Lake Eyre and Cooper Creek wetlands were mostly dry except for a small area to their east, while important wetlands in the Lake Eyre Basin including Lakes Galilee, Yamma Yamma, Torquinnie and Mumbleberry were dry.

Waterbirds were concentrated in relatively few important sites, with only four wetland systems holding more than 5,000 birds: Lake Killapaninna, Lake Allallina, Paroo overflow Lakes and Coolmunda Dam.

Most alarmingly, the total breeding index of all 50 species combined was the lowest on record and well below the long-term average……

Professor Kingsford said climate change also needed to be taken into account.

"For these wetlands, they rely on that water staying around so animals and plants can go through their life cycles, but if you've got less of the water actually coming in at the top end and when it gets to the wetland there's a high evaporation rate then it's really challenging in the long term as well," he said.

"So a whole series of targets have been set and the big challenge is: did we get enough water for the environment over the next 15 to 20 years?"

He warned that if the regulators did not find the right balance, the wider community would pay a hefty price.

"We know in the millennium drought, for example, when there wasn't enough water for the Lower Lakes and the Coorong, governments had to put their hands in their pockets to spend $2 billion to actually rescue that system," Professor Kingsford said.

"We currently have a dredge parked in the mouth of the River Murray which is trying to keep it open — a service that the environment used to do for nothing, and that's costing taxpayers up to $100,000 a week."

He said the birds were a barometer, indicating declining health of the whole ecosystem.

University of NSW, Centre for Ecosystem Science, Aerial Survey of Wetland Birds in Eastern Australia - October 2014 Annual Summary Report

Blogging the 2015 Aerial Survey.

Click on the survey route to read a blog post or the arrow button on the top lefthand side to access the list of blogs.

Peter Dutton - the gods' gift to the Labor Party in 2016

This has to come under the heading ‘You couldn’t make this up”, as yet another Turnbull Government minister reveals his contempt for women:

Twitter, 3 January 2016

The Daily Telegraph, 3 January 2016:

PETER Dutton, the minister who once resigned from the frontbench via SMS, yesterday labelled a female journalist a “mad f ... king witch” in a text — and then sent it to the journalist instead of the colleague it was intended for.

The Immigration Minister last night outed himself as the MP who had sent the blistering text about Sunday Telegraph political editor Samantha Maiden after reading her coverage of the Jamie Briggs affair.

The text message ended a horror week for the government after Mr Briggs was forced to resign from the frontbench for allegedly trying to kiss a junior public servant during a boozy night in a Hong Kong bar while on official ministerial business. The text was supposed to be sent to Mr Briggs after Maiden’s story outing the dumped minister for sending photos of the public servant he had taken on his phone, to colleagues.

Mr Dutton, who immediately apologised to Maiden after he realised he had sent the message to her, outed himself in a bid to avoid other colleagues being listed as suspects after Maiden refused to reveal the author of the text.

The minister, successful in protecting Australian borders, said he would cop the incident on the chin.

“I apologised to her straight away, which she took in good faith,’’ he said. “Sam and I have exchanged some robust language over the years so we had a laugh after this. I’m expecting a tough time in her next column.”

Maiden said she had accepted Mr Dutton’s apology and was “not offended by his mobile phone malfunction”. The pair have known each other for more than a decade.….

UPDATE

Prime Minister Turnbull not amused by Dutton’s latest blunder……

The Sydney Morning Herald, 4 January 2016:

Senior cabinet member Peter ­Dutton has apologised for calling a female journalist a “mad f. king witch” over her coverage of fallen junior minister Jamie Briggs’s ­exploits in Hong Kong.

The Immigration Minister ­yesterday admitted that he sent the message to the political editor for News Corp Australia’s Sunday papers, Samantha Maiden, after she ­reported Mr Briggs had sent colleagues a photograph of the diplomat who complained about his behaviour at the Stormies Bar in late November.

It is understood Mr Dutton ­accidentally sent the text message to Maiden instead of Mr Briggs in what was intended as a show of support for the besieged South Australian MP…..

Malcolm Turnbull is understood to regard the derogatory comment more seriously, describing it privately as “completely ­inappropriate”.

Maiden’s reporting was highly critical of Mr Briggs and his supporters, and also revealed that the former cities minister had ­accepted first-class flights and gifts of champagne and wine during his parliamentary career. While denying he sent the photograph of the diplomat and his chief of staff, ­Stuart Eaton, at the Hong Kong bar to the media, Mr Briggs said he had shared it with some colleagues ­before and after the complaint in an attempt to highlight the ­“informal” nature of the night.

The Community and Public Sector Union said the breach of the woman’s privacy was ­“disgraceful”.

Although the journalist in question is obviously having fun......