08/09/2025
Who Will Fill the Gaps in Aged Care?
When news broke that one major aged care provider planned to cut 60% of its enrolled nurses in Qld, describing the move as “dangerous”¹, many of us in the caring space felt alarm, but not surprised. For years, aged care has been under pressure: not enough staff, not enough training and not enough recognition of what it really means to support people who are ageing, living with illness or dying and those close to them.
Endorsed enrolled nurses (EENs) have always been a crucial part of the team. They are well trained in clinical nursing and medication and act as a vital link between the few registered nurses (RNs) working in aged care and Certificate III or IV care workers. When EENs are removed, the load falls heavily on the RNs, often just one for an entire facility of residents and on care workers who have more limited skills and training.
On paper, Cert III in ageing includes a unit on palliative care. But grief and loss are electives, not core units. The same often applies to Cert IV. Short courses at this level do not prepare someone adequately for the complexity of sitting with death, supporting grieving families and recognising and responding at a complex level to dying.
In our work with carers and professionals, we hear over and over again:
“I didn’t know what was happening to Mum. It looked horrible, yet actually, she was simply actively dying but I didn’t know.”
If staff at the bedside do not know what the many faces of the dying process looks like and how to respond accordingly, how can they explain it to families? How can they feel comfortable and bring comfort to that person and those present? Without that high level of understanding and explanation, families worry, care workers can be overwhelmed and hospital transfers occur more than is necessary.
Professor Allan Kellehear reminds us that 95% of the time, people who are ageing, dying or grieving are not in front of a doctor or nurse. They are alone, home, with family or friends, or in an aged care facility supported by care workers. Only 5% of the time are they in front of a doctor or nurse. That statistic alone should shift our thinking: clinical staff cannot be the only answer.
Read the full blog:
When news broke that one major aged care provider planned to cut 60% of its enrolled nurses in Qld, describing the move as “dangerous”¹, many of us in the caring space felt alarm, but not surprised. For years, aged care has been under pressure: not enough staff, not enough training and not enou...
