South West aged-care facility manager warns lack of funding could lead to staff shortages

The head of an aged care facility in the Lower South West has warned a lack of funding in the industry could lead to critical worker shortages and less vacancies. Bridgetown’s Geegelup Village general manager Sean Mahoney, who has been in charge of the centre since May, said if the sector was continually neglected there would not be enough staff working and less seniors could move into care facilities. Mr Mahoney said it was critical to have adequately trained staff before increasing the uptake of residents at facilities as it ran the risk of burn-out in workers. Geegelup Village has 24 aged-care residents in its 32-bed complex, with Mr Mahoney saying the organisation could not take any more until it found more workers. “You have gotta have the staff before you get the resident,” he said. “We are not going to accept residents without the staff to care for them.” Mr Mahoney said the staff at Geegelup were the “best” he had worked with across any career and they did everything they could to provide the best care for each resident. However, Mr Mahoney said due to the immense workload which could include showering, toileting, mobility of a resident, liaising with family, hospital transfers, supplying medicine and the associated paperwork, an eight-hour shift would leave anyone worn out. The Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety — which found almost one in three aged care residents across the nation had experienced substandard care — included 148 recommendations to improve the sector, such as boosting minimum staff training and strengthening the sector regulator. But Mr Mahoney said Federal and State Governments needed to supply the funding necessary. “There is no other way around it, where is the money coming from,” he said. “People die if they are not cared for.” It comes only weeks after a top GP in Dunsborough said a lack of staff was putting a strain on the South West health industry. Dr Andrew Lill said a lack of available staff was a part of the “real crisis” facing the aged care industry and urged the State Government to take action.