industry & reform
Minister for Aged Care Anika Wells at a press conference on 2 August . Photo : NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage
No ‘ magic bullet ’
New Aged Care Minister speaks about the government ’ s aged care agenda .
Anika Wells interviewed by Elise Hartevelt
As the short-staffed aged care sector braced itself for the impending Covid peak , the government released new measures to guide providers on handling outbreaks in residential homes .
The ‘ winter plan ’ came in response to providers ’ claims that the government “ was never prepared enough and didn ’ t do enough forward thinking ”.
“ There ’ s no one magic bullet that ’ s going to help everybody get through this unscathed ,” the Minister of Aged Care and Sport , Anika Wells , says .
In response to Covid ’ s destructive impact on the sector last year , Wells aimed to be more proactive by launching the winter plan and ensuring sufficient stock of RAT kits and PPE gear is available .
“ We need big , systematic reform to address this issue , which is why I ’ m committed to increase care minutes , 24 / 7 nurses and an aged care worker ’ s pay rise ,” Wells says .
“ My focus is on trying to fix this winter , but also to do what we need to ensure this isn ’ t a problem again next winter .”
Aged Care Insite spoke with Minister Anika Wells on the winter plan , addressing workforce shortages and the aged care budget .
ACI : What are the main issues for aged care providers that are addressed in the Winter Plan ? AW : There ’ s five main elements to the Winter Plan , which are vaccinations , antivirals , proactive engagement , visitor and worker safety , and infection control training .
I ’ m sure providers will be extremely familiar with all of those elements . I ’ m also aware that there ’ s no one magic bullet that ’ s going to help everybody get through this unscathed , particularly when the sector has been under such pressure for years , and particularly through COVID .
We ’ re releasing this plan in response to two things . One , I was until recently a local MP , and I used to visit facilities in my electorate and talk to the workers , residents and families there . My general sense is that people felt the government wasn ’ t ever prepared enough and
“ We are not
going to address these enormous workforce issues without doing big reform .
didn ’ t do enough forward thinking , so I ’ m trying to address that concern by being more proactive now I ’ m the Aged Care Minister .
Secondly , the Winter Plan came in response to a summit I held in Canberra with the Chief Medical Officer , Deputy Chief Medical Officer , the Quality and Safety Regulator , the nurses advocate , a big group of people just to say , ‘ Let ’ s get all the ideas on the table for aged care . Let ’ s leave no stone unturned . What can I do as the Aged Care Minister ?’
Their advice is what ultimately formed this Winter Plan .
New South Wales recently made the decision to allow unvaccinated people to visit residents in aged care facilities . What was your response to this ? It ’ s difficult for me to regulate different states . Obviously , that ’ s entirely their remit . All I can do is encourage federally what is best practice , and that ’ s why we have the Chief Medical Officer and the aged care regulators set out what is best practice for providers to provide .
12 agedcareinsite . com . au