NEWS-HR

Flinders University Health Service has a s.394 (Application for unfair dismissal remedy) it must defend before Fair Work Commissioner Platt in his Adelaide chambers (Shippey).

A Barmera rally calling for the introduction of staffing laws to protect aged care residents saw an extra 150 people join the cause.

A s.185 (Enterprise agreement) application by Corumbene Nursing Home for the Aged Inc for its Corumbene Nursing Home for the Aged Inc Nurses Enterprise Agreement 2017 has been approved by Fair Work Commissioner Harper-Greenwell in Melbourne on 14 May 2018.

Hynes Legal has appointed Anne Marie Cassaniti to its aged care and retirement living team.

A s.185 (Enterprise agreement) application from MDA Limited for its MDA Ltd Enterprise Agreement has been agreed by Fair Work Commissioner Saunders in Newcastle on 16 May 2018.

A s.185 (Enterprise agreement) application by Witmore Enterprises Inc for the Witmore Enterprises Inc (Supported Employees) Workplace Agreement 2017 has been approved by Fair Work Commissioner Saunders in Newcastle on 14 May 2018.

A s.185 (Enterprise agreement) application by Australian Unity Care Services Pty Ltd, Australian Unity Retirement Living Management Pty Ltd, Better Home Care Pty Ltd T/A Australian Unity for the Australian Unity Home Care Enterprise Agreement 2017 has been approved by Fair Work Deputy President Masson sitting in Melbourne on 10 May 2018.

Twice Betty Tuohy’s husband has disappeared from his Canberra aged care home without staff even noticing he was gone. He’s been in a home for the last year after being diagnosed with dementia and while Mrs Tuohy says some staff are wonderful, it’s clear for others it’s just a job. She shared her experiences on staffing shortfalls and care quality on Friday with a parliamentary committee investigating aged care services across Australia. After his first “escape”, Mr Tuohy was returned to his care home by two boys who found him in a nearby suburb after he’d fallen over. “The second time my daughters went down to visit after work. They went down to the room and he wasn’t there,” Mrs Tuohy said. “I put all this down to lack of staff; not enough staff to really know what is happening with them.” A third time Mr Tuohy was able to leave via a faulty gate. Mrs Tuohy believes there should also be mandatory education and qualification standards for carers, such as those for the childcare sector, and a requirement for facilities to have a 24-hour roster of registered nurses. Mark Brandon from aged care provider Estia Health told the committee he’d visited 300 nursing homes in the last few years. “The ones that seem to work really well are where the staff have a good relationship with the residents,” he said. The committee also heard changes to the Medicare levy or additional private health coverage could make funding for aged care services more sustainable. Kate Lawrence-Haynes, of Leading Aged Services Australia, said all funding levers had to be considered, including the National Disability Insurance Scheme. “(The government) needs to look at the Medicare levy, it potentially needs to look at (a) role for private insurance products so that people can insure themselves if they need residential care,” she said.