ANMF Residential Aged Care Staffing Calculator©

The aged care sector is facing numerous challenges. The ANMF recognises that the right staffing levels and skills mix are fundamental to the care older Australians deserve.

ANMF have used evidence-based research and reports to create the Resident Assessment Scoring Tool^© and the ANMF Residential Aged Care Staffing Calculator^©

 This calculator will show how your aged care facility staffing hours compare to:

• The Federal Government budgeted minutes of care in their response to the Royal Commission recommendations.
• The Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety recommended minutes for staffing and skills mix; and the
• The ANMF recommended staffing numbers (Minutes) and skills mix (Ratio) resulting from our commissioned research.

You will get the best results using this tool if you are able to provide detailed staffing hours in conjunction with resident assessment information. However, if you don’t have that information, you will still be able to get some indicative information on the staffing levels of your site compared to the benchmarks.

Why use the calculator?

The ANMF Residential Aged Care Staffing Calculator^© provides the opportunity for you to analyse your current staffing and skills mix and compare it against four staffing scenarios.

Deep Dive

For those that want to use their own facilities staffing and resident assessment information for a total picture of their staffing needs and current arrangements.

Dip the Toe

For those that want only a high level comparison based on industry averages of existing staffing and resident needs.

Aged Care Staffing Calculator - Reflecting Site Specific Data

Aged Care Staffing Calculator - Based on Industry Average

Download the calculator

When you open the spreadsheet, please note there will be two security warnings instructing you to enable the content.
By enabling the content this will allow the spreadsheet to operate as intended and the calculation formulas function as intended.

The user will be asked to complete each file, with the asterisk marked fields being required as the minimum to generate a comparator report.
Users click on each box and a drop-down list containing options for selection appears. Each drop down list will have a pop-up box that contains prompts for the field - note if the pop-up box that contains prompts for the field - note if the pop-up box impedes your view, you can simply click on it and drag it to the right side. Users only need to do this once and all pop ups will be at the right side.
Please remember to file save the spreadsheet you are working on.

Background

In January 2016 The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) in collaboration with Flinders University and the University of South Australia released the National Aged Care Staffing and Skills Mix Project Report: Meeting residents’ care needs: A study of the requirement for nursing and personal care staff.

Due to the growing prevalence of co-morbidities associated with physical and cognitive decline, polypharmacy, there is an increasing demand for services that can support a growing pattern of frailty, dependence and complexity amongst populations receiving aged care particularly in residential aged care which was the focus of the report.

The purpose of the research was to establish an evidence-based staffing number and skills mix methodology and subsequently develop evidence-based tools that will inform minimum staffing and skills mix required to meet assessed resident care and service needs. ANMF have used this evidentiary report to create the Resident Assessment Scoring Tool^© and the ANMF Residential Aged Care Staffing Calculator^©.

In summary, resident’s in Australian aged care facilities are increasingly less stable and predictable in their healthcare status, healthcare trajectory and resultant care requirements.  Complexities such as multiple co-morbidities and pathologies which require clinical observation and monitoring to prevent instability or active nursing interventions to minimise harm. The type and range of residents who in addition to the pathological complexity can also present with mental health and or dementia; be experiencing grief and loss of independence including loss of self, to those requiring the expertise that deliver’s palliative and end of life care.  

The role of the Registered Nurse in residential aged care is to assess, provide, delegate, manage and oversee the delivery of evidence based, high quality holistic nursing and personal care with the support of both Enrolled Nurses and Personal Care Workers. Australians should expect no less than optimal care for our older citizens.