Aged care continues to face a massive shortage of staff. According to a recent union survey, one out of every five workers in the aged care industry plans to quit within the following year. This will increase the old age care gap if new measures are not implemented.
The problem gets worse as the population ages. Aged care services are seeing a surge of new clients as more and more Australians reach retirement age. As a result, their services are in high demand, but their supply is not keeping up.
How can you solve this problem with the available staff and attract new staff? Aged care quality and safety training standards for elderly care can be of assistance in resolving these issues!
Everyone in Australia feels the effects of the current staffing crisis in the healthcare sector. Here are some ways that training in quality and safety in elderly care can help fix that problem. Continue reading to learn more.
Why Is Aged Care So Important?
Everybody ages. As we get older, our ability to live on our own diminishes, necessitating the need for elderly care.
Working in aged care means you're responsible for ensuring that people's golden years are as enjoyable as possible, with no restrictions on mobility or freedom.
When it comes to health, physical health isn't the only consideration; it's widely accepted that three interconnected factors are necessary:
- The physical health of a person
- The state of one's mind
- Relationships and social ties that are mutually beneficial
As health care workers for the elderly, you can assist with the above. You'll be that familiar face to them every day as you will likely be interacting with them and coordinating various group activities.
As a result, it makes this one of the most rewarding jobs in the economy. With Australia's ageing population, this position will only get more critical as time goes on. Aged care is expected to increase substantially in the next few years due to all of this.
Aged Care Compliance Standards With Health and Safety
The residents cannot care for themselves and require assistance, making care homes a challenging and demanding job environment. Let's look at how to handle workplace health and safety aged care concerns.
Aged care workers face the chance of harm and injuries because of the risks of caring for the aged. As a result, accidents can:
- Cause medical bills
- Loss of work time and productivity
- Add increased insurance premiums
- Claims for compensation
- Damage to property
- Damage to your reputation or PR
No facility that provides elderly care can afford to ignore workers' health and safety if they care about their employees, their reputation, or their bottom line.
If you need a reason to prioritise your aged care facility's health and safety, consider the Workplace Health and Safety Act 2011, which requires all employers to ensure worker safety.
A risk assessment is required to manage health and safety in aged care. An assessment of the potential dangers and threats that exist on a property for the benefit of personnel, clients, or members of the general public is known as a risk appraisal.
How Aged Care Quality and Safety Training Can Attract New Staff
With a shortfall of aged care workers and a projected need for more, it is critical to be able to recruit aged care workers to the job and the facility. However, attracting decent quality aged care workers who are enthusiastic and reliable can seem impossible.
But we must place ourselves in their shoes and ask ourselves, "What would I look for in an aged care job?"
Focusing on the problem through a different lens can reveal areas that need improvement that are simple to address. Let's look at how you can attract a motivated, new workforce.
Aged care quality and safety training can address the staffing crisis through:
Social Change to More Positive Attitudes
This movement is aimed at changing people's negative thoughts about getting older. This is because rethinking care is a social challenge. Over time, there needs to be a workforce and industry campaign that considers these ideas and promotes job opportunities in the elderly care industry.
Code of Conduct Aged Care Compliance
A code of conduct for aged care compliance will help the industry define its:
- Promise to consumers
- Workers standards
- Quality and safety commitments of workers
The code emphasises consumer needs and attracting and retaining committed, high-quality staff.
Skilled Workforce
Aged care workers want to know that their employer is committed to providing ongoing training and education so that they can provide the best possible care. This training must be available to all employees, regardless of individual circumstances, so that employees can participate without resistance. Consider digital literacy, and provide additional assistance as needed.
These employees are kind, sincere, hardworking, and selfless people who want to give the best care possible.
By introducing aged care support worker training, the focus will be on job structure, which includes:
- Career planning
- Roles in the workplace
- Room for advancement
- Increasing knowledge and abilities
- Modernization and reshaping of vocational education
The above is related to formal and informal learning, including higher education.
Diverse job opportunities benefit an adaptable workforce. Redefined expertise and qualifications, competency-based recognition, and longer career paths are linked to an industry standard for worker accreditation.
How Aged Care Worker Training Can Retain and Recruit Staff
To recruit, retain staff, and foster a positive work environment, employers can look at increasing employee engagement and empowerment through training.
There must be no barriers to participation in this training for all employees, irrespective of their circumstances.
There must be an equal emphasis on:
- Replicating successful business models
- Providing students with meaningful work placements
- Implementing targeted strategies for particular demographics, such as young people and employees from underrepresented groups.
These actions will aid in the recruitment and retention of the right people, as well as the retention of valuable skills and talent.
Consider digital literacy, such as residential aged care software, and provide supplemental assistance as needed.
These improved aged care training and recruitment methods can impact how care is provided and when it is available because of their skills and competencies.
Providing Variety in the Place of Work
Aged care is not a cut-and-dry approach, with professionals providing a variety of care types such as:
- Residential care
- Primary care
- Acute care
- Community care
Where appropriate, implementing a variation in staff members' day-to-day work will improve job diversity and workplace happiness.
This action promotes the quality of life and health of older people based on their life stage and personal goals.
Showing Your Staff That You Consider Their Safety
In the context of the current environment, it is of the utmost importance to openly demonstrate how your company prioritises the safety of its health care workers and the people they care for. Providing items such as:
- Personal protective stock
- Taking care of immunisation expectations
- Air purifiers
- Alarm systems
- Locking of doors after hours
It's the little things that count. These will go a long way to show that you care and will induce more of a feeling of people to remain and consider aged care as a career.
Taking Care of the Wellbeing of Your Aged Care Workers
An appealing quality in an elderly care facility demonstrates genuine and ongoing support on an emotional level. All staff members want to feel that those in leadership positions have heard them and value their contributions. Staff such as:
- Personal care assistants
- Support workers
- Enrolled nurses
- Registered nurses
By being present and fostering open lines of communication, Residential Facility Managers, Area Managers, and Regional Managers can positively impact the mental health of their staff.
It is possible to lay the foundation for a positive, open workplace that is highly regarded and desired by promoting the use of apps. These apps encourage participation in well-being sessions, and require employees to complete annual evaluations.
Take Care of Your Aged, You Will Be There One Day!
There are numerous tasks and requirements to meet workplace aged care quality and safety. While laws define how establishments must comply with safety requirements, ensuring that all of them are followed and adhered to is another story.
Are you looking for a quick and cost-effective way to bring your aged care facility up to date with various required codes and standards? Then, contact us today! We have been developing simple online skills training solutions since 2000!
Leave a comment