6 December 2019
Under new laws just passed, Queensland’s 16 government-run residential aged care facilities will be required to provide a minimum 3.65 hours of nursing care to each resident per day and have staff ratios of 30 per cent Registered Nurses, 20 per cent Enrolled Nurses, and 50 per cent Assistants in Nursing.
The Health Transparency Bill 2019 also requires all Queensland’s aged care facilities—including the State’s estimated 400 private facilities—to be asked to report their daily resident care hours and staffing skill mix, among other information. While it will not be compulsory for providers to report this information, facilities failing to do so will be named on a public website.
The new laws follow the abandonment of 70 aged care residents in July this year from Earle Haven after an ongoing financial dispute between the private facility’s operators and the owner failed to be resolved.
There will be ongoing evaluation of the impact of this first step toward improved staffing and skills mix in residential aged care.
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