Please join our campaigns to fix our broken health system and aged care sector

1 October 2021

The crisis within our health system continues to spiral out of control. On Tuesday morning a massive number of people (129) were left waiting in emergency departments for a ward bed, with 45 hospital-initiated theatre cancellations the day before.

Ambulance ramping on Monday night was so bad there were no crews to send to 17 emergency calls requiring a lights and sirens response. The consequences could so easily have resulted in preventable fatalities.

Add to that the continuing crushing demand on our under-resourced, under-staffed hospitals, systemic exhaustion and fatigue creating unsafe hospital environments and the ongoing issue of violence and aggression directed against our members.

In response to this, and the appalling situation in aged care, the ANMF (SA Branch) is pushing full throttle on two major campaigns to pressure governments to act now.

Please join our Action for Health campaign here and send a message to South Australia’s MPs to ‘Stop the Squeeze on our Health System’.

By joining our It’s Not Too Much to Ask campaign here you can stand with us and urge the Federal Government to have a registered nurse (RN) on site in residential aged care facilities at all times.
  
Currently, there are no minimum staffing or skills mix requirements in federal legislation for aged care homes. And, under current laws, residents are only provided with access to an RN if the care home provider thinks it is required.
  
In its budget response to the recommendations of the Royal Commission the Government has only committed to ensuring an RN presence for 16 hours a day – meaning that the current round the clock care coverage recommended will not be realised until July 2024. Frail, older people living in residential care can't wait this long.
  
Please advocate on behalf of nurses and residents and support this motion to urgently fix our aged care system.