Worldwide nursing shortage no surprise in Australian aged services

Written by Rhiannon Nunes, December 18, 2019.

At the end of October, I was fortunate enough to be treated to 4 days of education, idea sharing and networking with some of the amazing humans who make up the aged services sector in Australia at the annual LASA Congress – ‘Better Ageing Futures’ as well as the NextGen Forum, in Adelaide.

‘Better Ageing Futures’ was a great title as it kept the following statistic at the forefront of our minds, reminding us that all the work we do should be viewed through the lens of this: 

“By 2027 the percentage of Australia’s population that is over the age of 65 will increase to 18%, which accounts for approximately 5.1 million people. (source Australian Bureau of Statistics - 2017).” 

I left feeling engaged, educated, enriched and a little enraged, and I will expand on these more in my next few blogs.

People

Recently an article was released on LinkedIn which states that:

“Countries around the world are grappling with a shortage of healthcare providers — an estimated 18 million of them over the next 10 years, about half of them nurses and midwives, according to the World Health Organisation.”

 It isn’t surprising that our own increasing and ageing population in Australia is replicated across the globe and will mean that more than ever, the demand for a focus on workforce is pivotal.

That all sounds like doom and gloom and an overwhelming amount of people to up-skill, educate and motivate into seeing Healthcare as the industry to look to when considering their career paths, an even tougher sell (some may think) directing them towards Aged Services… agree to disagree. :)

On the other side of the gloomy coin is OPPORTUNITY!

Yep, the optimist in me can see that with this need for people, we also have the ability to focus on the people, by valuing and appreciating our staff and enlisting the energy and enthusiasm of a new generation of healthcare providers.

True, the level of demand far outweighs the supply of qualified staff and with that there has been a shift from employers; they are now focussing on their attraction and retention of staff, as well as what they can offer, in order to stand out from the crowd and be employers of choice.

Ours is a sector that has historically been dominated by a more senior contingent of female staff.

This needs to change, not only to reflect the diversity that exists in our society but also to encourage those from all backgrounds, career levels and genders to consider joining us. Employers are reflecting the need for this change by promoting inclusivity as well as professional development for continuous improvement.

LASA’s NextGen is one such initiative that encourages and supports the emerging leaders who are leading the way for the next generation of Aged Services. The forums I have attended in Sydney and Adelaide have been so inspiring, getting to meet some incredible humans who live and breathe supporting our ageing citizens and making a positive difference in the world along the way, and there are more where they came from!

Being at LASA Congress and witnessing the women in leadership forum as well as the many panel discussions and networking conversations showcased that the more we see each other and reach out, the more we can draw on those connections and relationships to encourage our workforce to welcome changes and evolve with the population.

Employers are leading the charge and embracing how the workforce needs to adapt and change to meet the need.

In some cases, this is thinking outside of the box to create a mix of skills, training and experience to meet the needs of each site, which may include hiring staff from outside of healthcare completely or from vastly different sectors of the healthcare industry. In others it is investing in the junior staff to create this mix and foster them from within through paid training and mentoring opportunities.

From my experience the people in our sector are passionate and incredibly motivated to provide only the very best for their residents and teams.

It has always been the people that make our sector what it is and will continue to be (albeit in greater numbers).

By continuing to encourage communication, collaboration and connection of people from all fields in the industry, we can build a workforce that is strong, established, supported and has a depth of knowledge and experience to meet the demands head on.

I have faith in the people already in the sector and am excited for those to come.