Aged care reform welcome

Opal HealthCare today welcomed the introduction of a suite of aged care reforms into the Federal Parliament, and urged MPs to pass the proposed legislation into law as soon as possible.

Among the measures is a requirement that a Registered Nurse (RN) be on site 24-hours a day at every residential aged care community in Australia from the middle of 2023.

“Opal HealthCare strongly believes in the importance of registered nurses and the role they play in giving complex sub-acute care for those who need 24-hour care,” Opal HealthCare CEO Rachel Argaman said.

“To reflect this belief, Opal HealthCare already has registered nurses on site on a full-time basis at every one of our care communities.

“It is encouraging to see one of the first acts of this new Parliament is to strengthen the care provided to older Australians in need.”

Other measures include a mandated minimum number of care minutes a day for every aged care resident, an improvement that Opal HealthCare strongly supports.

This is in line with Opal HealthCare’s purpose “to bring joy for those we care for”.

About Us: Opal HealthCare is one of Australia’s leading aged care providers, with more than 9,500 team members looking after about 7,700 residents in 87 residential aged care communities in metro and regional New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia.