Need assistance?
In recognition of this week’s Aged Care Employee Day as a time to thank the aged care workforce, the Australian Institute of Health and Safety is urging the aged care sector to do more to protect employees from rising injury and assault rates.
The peak body for workplace health and safety in Australia is highlighting that the rates of injury and assault experienced by nursing, care and support workers across health, aged care and disability exceed the national average. Data from Safe Work Australia also shows that people in these roles are assaulted on the job at 6.5 times the rate of any other occupation.
AIHS chair Celia Antonovsky said Aged Care Employee Day, held annually on 7 August, is an opportunity to recognise the vital contribution of aged care workers but also a time to acknowledge the risks they face every day.
“These are the people helping the people we love including our parents and grandparents. Whether it is a nurse, a personal carer, a cook or a cleaner, they are contributing to the wellbeing of older Australians through the work they do,” Ms Antonovsky said.
“Every day, aged care workers dedicate themselves to caring for others, often at a significant cost to their own physical and psychological wellbeing. We owe it to them to create workplaces that protect, support and value the essential work they do.”
The Safe Work Australia data also shows that serious mental health compensation claims have almost doubled in the past decade for the care workforce and that nursing, care and support workers experience serious musculoskeletal injury claims at a rate 2.3 times the national average.
Ms Antonovsky said proper training and systems are essential to better managing the physical demands of lifting, moving and supporting patients.
“High injury rates contribute to burnout, workers’ compensation claims, staff shortages, and experienced workers leaving the sector,” she said.
She said it is also important to address aggression, intimidation, verbal abuse, fatigue and psychosocial strain.
Ms Antonovsky said the AIHS is urging every employer and work health and safety professional to look at their workplace and consider how they can better protect workers, because “everyone has the right to go to work and come home safe”.
“Australia has an ageing population and a growing shortage of aged care workers, so employers must protect the workers who are delivering this critical care. Because no one should have to put their own health and safety on the line to care for others,” she said.
Read more stories for executives here
Follow Australian Ageing Agenda on LinkedIn and Facebook, sign up to our twice-weekly newsletter and subscribe to AAA magazine for the complete aged care picture
Advertisement
