MHA Care CEO Michael Hogan said in relation to the health care workforce, MHA have continually struggled with a shortage of Home Care Workers even prior to the COVID pandemic.
“This situation was not only experienced by MHA Care but also across the broader Home Care sector,” Mr Hogan said.
“This was more prevalent in our Care Worker workforce who deliver our In-Home Care services. This situation was not specific to Home Care, but I believe was being experienced across the wider Health and Disability services as well.
“On a more local perspective it is a challenge to recruit staff to work in a sector were the work performed by Care Workers is undervalued.
“This is compounded by the low wages and in a lot of circumstances the additional cost born by workers as they perform their roles.
“The ability to attract workers and build a workforce has a had a significant impact not only on MHA Care but also our staff, our existing clients and new clients seeking in home services.
“It is difficult to watch our service coordination staff struggle with having to cancel services due to lack of staff or not be able to provide services to new clients.
“Our Care Workers have continued to demonstrate their commitment to supporting our clients by consistently taking on additional work to ensure that as far as is possible clients do not go without their care services.”
While the nation returns to a form of normality the health sector continues to struggle with staff shortages with the Victorian Government recently announcing free university and specialist training degrees for those wishing to study nursing and midwifery.
While this will hopefully entice more people into nursing and midwifery, the health sector as a whole is still struggling to entice workers into other health fields.
“Even though we are returning to a form of normal it has become increasingly difficult to recruit Care Workers to not only alleviate the workload on our existing staff but to also meet an increasing demand for our services,” Mr Hogan said.
“Unfortunately increasing wages and improving conditions for the workforce is just one step towards enticing people into the workforce.
“It would be good to see a whole Government and Sector approach adopted in promoting not just improved wages and conditions but the value that the work being performed brings to not only individuals choosing to continue to live independently in their own homes but also to their local communities and the immense satisfaction that our workers get from knowing they are making a positive difference to someone’s life.”
With the latest July job vacancy numbers at unprecedented levels of 86,900 roles, RAI CEO Liz Ritchie says the capacity of the regional workforce is falling well short of employer needs and the solution isn’t a quick fix.
“We welcome the National Jobs and Skill Summit in Canberra and congratulate the Albanese Government for taking the lead on this critical national challenge. But ensuring we can ‘fill and skill’ in regional Australia requires big picture thinking,” Ms Ritchie said.
“Our research tells us that when regional people are trained in the regions, they stay in the regions. This includes doctors, nurses, accountants, engineers, teachers and lawyers.”
Mr Hogan said he continues to remind his staff of the positive impact they are having on those people in need in the community and that their work is valued.
“I am reminded of my time in the Disability sector where I continually reminded my staff ‘that being a Disability Support Worker is not just a JOB it is a PROFESSION’,” Mr Hogan said.
“I believe this to be true for our valued Home Care Workers.”
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