Dear Residents, families, and representatives,
From 1 July 2023, the government will require aged care homes to have at least one registered nurse available, 24 hours a day, every day of the week.
However, Homes with 30 beds or less are eligible to apply for an exemption from this requirement.
Whiddon recently had confirmation from the Government that our Wee Waa and Bourke Homes will not be required to meet the 24×7 Registered Nursing requirement over the next 12 months. This is due to the small size of these Homes and the considerable challenges we have had recruiting Registered Nurses to these areas. Whiddon has tried a range of recruitment activities, which include offering accommodation and re-location support, attracting new people to the sector, exploring international workforce options, testing fly-in-fly-out roles, and using contracted agency staff.
Rest assured, Whiddon is committed to the highest level of care for our Residents and we will continue to provide quality care with the support of our local Doctors, hospitals and remote Whiddon team. We will also continue to take every effort to recruit Registered Nurses into these regions.
If you have any questions or concerns, please speak with your Director of Care Services.
Thank you,
The Whiddon Team.