Worker exodus looms as half of staff planning to quit within three years: survey

A new report into aged care staffing from CompliSpace has sounded warning bells for the sector, with 50% of staff surveyed saying they are planning to quit in the next three years and 67% within the next five years. The Impossible Task: Workers’ Views on the Rising Demands of Aged Care report surveyed 1000 aged care workers, and found that 45% had lost half or more of their management team within the past 12 months, including 11% who had lost their entire team. Of those who plan to quit, 78% cite stress as one of their top three reasons for leaving, while 89% of those who plan to stay ranked relationships with residents and families in their top three reasons for continuing. In his foreword to the report, CompliSpace CEO David Griffiths (pictured) said that, while the Federal Government’s mandatory staffing requirements are badly needed, they are also currently “unattainable”, with 39% believing them difficult to achieve and only 4% believing them easy.

“Our report shows that more than half of aged care workers across the nation (57%) believe that it is impossible to achieve the mandatory 215 minutes care time per resident, per day. “The reason is a lack of qualified aged care staff. Ninety per cent of aged care workers (90%) across the country are desperate to see more staff in their facilities within the next year. “Those in the ACT and NT are particularly feeling the pinch, with all workers confident that the introduction of additional staff would be a major benefit in 2022/23,” he said.

Tim Hicks, Aged & Community Care Providers Association (ACCPA) General Manager of Policy and Advocacy, said that though there have been some important steps forward by the Federal Government – such as independent pricing legislation and commitments to pay and staffing increases – the survey reflects the strain that the aged care system is under.

“The estimated billion-dollar deficit in residential care funding for 2021-22, and the cost of managing the pandemic is placing enormous pressure on staff at all levels. “Finding workers to meet the new staffing targets to provide for the required 45% increase in minutes of care by a Registered Nurse is going to be impossible for many services,” he said.

According to Tim, a plan is needed that recognises many providers will fall short of the target even after taking all reasonable steps.

“We don’t want managers fearing that they will be punished because the staff they need just aren’t there. We must not back away from the need to recruit more staff, but we need a practical and realistic plan to get there that avoids adding the pressure that current staff are already facing. “Any workforce plan for aged care also needs to address home care, where new clients are already being turned away because the providers cannot find enough staff,” he said.

Last year’s CompliSpace report found that 20% of workers were planning to quit within the year.