Nurses sound off on rural aged-care staffing, funding

Funding and resource shortfalls. Staffing shortfalls. Skill-mix and knowledge deficits.

These were some of the barriers to care delivery identified by RNs and enrolled nurses working in rural aged care, as part of a study exploring their perceptions of the impact of reforms on the sector.

Study lead Dr Julie Henderson, from Flinders University, interviewed RNs and enrolled nurses working with aged-care residents in rural South Australia. Of the 11 nurses interviewed, seven worked in multipurpose services (MPS) and four in residential aged-care facilities (RACF).

One RN working in an RACF identified difficulties in accessing the “right sort of dressings” for wound care, while another talked of “stealing from Peter to pay Paul” to provide adequate equipment. “There was also a perception that the situation was worsening,” the article read.

The paper also quoted another RN working in an RACF as saying: “I see people who have more and more complex needs, being looked after by less qualified people, and I’m not quite sure how far we can go down that road without something having to give.”

Nursing Review sat down with Henderson to discuss the reforms affecting aged care in rural areas and how the issues nurses identified affect their capacity to deliver the care required.