Nurses' pay rates threaten aged care

Nursing award differences are putting pressure on local aged care facilities, with at least one provider saying beds may have to be closed if existing staff are lost.

The general manager of Woy Woy Community Aged Care Ltd Ms Jennifer Eddy said she was concerned about losing registered nurses back to the public sector nursing.

Nurses at aged care facilities come under Federal pay awards and do not qualify for the 16 per cent pay rise that their state colleagues received late last year.

Ms Eddy said: "The aged care nurses feel undervalued even though they are passionate about their jobs.

"The pay rise may be attractive enough for some registered nurses to leave age care and nurses thinking about working in age care not wanting to."

Woy Woy Community Age Care Ltd, with 50 high care beds and 40 low care beds, would be "put it in a position of having to close beds if they have any staff leave", said Ms Eddy.

Ms Eddy, who has worked at Woy Woy Aged Care for 14 years, said: "The industry needs to attract more nurses to age care and they (the nurses) should receive the same pay rise as their state counterparts."

The financial controller from Peninsula Village, Mr Glen Scorer, echoed the comments made by Ms Eddy: "The biggest challenge in age care and acute care will be attracting and retaining registered nurses."

The Aged and Community Services Association acting executive officer Ms Jill Pretty said: "At the moment, the nurses in the age care industry under the NSW Nursing Home State Award get paid 13 per cent less then their public sector colleagues."

Ms Pretty said, "Even with a pay rise of eight per cent due at the end of July 2003, the age care nurses would be 18 per cent under their state colleagues."

Jim McGinty, January 7