If we want to improve the situation for residents, we need more registered nurses in aged care homes. When registered nurses are on duty, residents have better health outcomes, a higher quality of life and fewer hospital admissions.
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This article rang a bell for me.
We are working on moving my mother into care, at aged 90. She is capable of living at home but the battle to get carers in, and stay, has been too hard. She sacks them. And then I fell ill. My husband and I have been her main carers.
A friend told me last week of visiting her mother in care in a small town in WA. Her mother is well, and possibly not really needing to be there. She had two serious medication mistakes recently, someone else’s pills, and her cardiac patch, usually applied after an adhesive spray on the skin. The patch was applied to the skin, and the adhesive spray nearly applied to the mouth!
Reports are that she does not understand the carers, nor they her often. Many migrants do these jobs, as attracting staff is very difficult. Thanks to them. However I am not sure what the ratio of registered nurse to the mix is.
I am no longer a nurse, but can see that an RN can monitor, manage, and teach a team and thus reduce such horrific errors. If this is happening to a lucid patient, what is happening to others there?
I also agree with patient ratios. I was around when these started to be applied in hospitals. I think if costings were done RNs would prove more cost effective. I also think aged care attracts new grads so there is no skill mix to improve productivity.
Regards,
Elaine