“Getting more aged care professionals now” helpinghand.org.au Health Workforce Australia 2013 Conference

Aged Care Services Residential Care: 200,000 residents Packaged Care at home: 64,000 people HACC (Home & Community Care): 610,000 Respite Transition

Age Care Workforce Estimated: 98,400 people employed in community care services 197,000 people employed in residential care – 150,000 are direct care employees Current structure: RNs/ENs/Care Workers and Allied Health

Aged Care Growth By 2050, 3.5 million Australians are expected to use aged care services Government expenditure on aged care is expected to increase from 0.8 to 1.8 per cent of GDP by 2050 Aged Care workforce to quadruple by when the overall employment-to-population ratio will be declining

Aged Care Staffing driven by Government policy framework/formula – scale/dependency rationed Funding/indexation Staffing structures: “Lifestyle vs Clinical” Labour market competition

Aged Care Staffing (cont) Skills availability Sector Innovation (e.g. Mental Health/Social Supports) Geography Perceptions of aged care as a career An ageing workforce

Labour Market Competition – an example South Australia – Mid-North 2010 – Ratio: Population as a proportion of People : – Ratio: Population as a proportion of People :1

Aged Care Futures Exponential growth – home care and residential (institutional) care Consumer choice (“Consumer Directed Care” - CDC) Wellness/preventative approach – compression of morbidity Hospital avoidance – partnering with wider health system

Implications/Opportunities Home Care = – Planning and Services in diverse environments – Social Isolation Risk Consumer Choice = – Provider Competition – Quality of Service – New Services?

Implications/Opportunities (cont) Technology – remote communication between consumer and provider – ADL/Health monitoring (of people in their own homes) – social communication New roles? – Effective consumer clinical assessment – who best to do it? – Redefine RN/EN roles – Nurse Practitioners? – CDC Consultants? – Wellness advocates/consultants – Therapy support – Technology support – for providers and consumers

How will we staff this future? Political recognition of competitive Labour market Pay rates and employment flexibility – “partners in care” Clear definition and articulation of new roles and opportunities “Recruiting where the consumers are” Engagement with education sector – curriculum – student experience IT environment (Deloitte)

THANK YOU