The resilience of the aged care industry

First published: October 2023

How to overcome aged care hidden hurdles

“The staff were the most vital asset in this situation, the power of the team really shone through during this time”

Being part of the world of aged care usually means your general workday is fast-paced and constantly changing, but we often know what to expect. Whether you are rostered for night duty cover, are assisting with meal rounds, or administering medications, you often know how your shift will be structured. This becomes routine for a lot of us, but sometimes, the world has other ideas.

To truly understand the ins, outs, and unexpected challenges that may arise in aged care, we spoke to one of Sanctuary Recruitments’ most seasoned veterans in the industry. Marilyn Jolly has experienced the good, the bad, and the ugly and has come face to face with all kinds of challenges. Marilyn has served in aged care for over 27 years, after transitioning into this field in 1994. Previously operating in an assortment of registered nurse roles, she was promoted to charge nurse/nurse unit manager soon after. Marilyn entered aged care as deputy director of nursing at Uniting in Manly, before becoming a director of nursing and then CEO. Due to regionalisation she eventually returned to a clinical role as executive manager of care for Uniting, covering 21 aged care homes in an area spanning from Manly to Richmond. If there’s one person who has insider knowledge, it’s Marilyn.

The industry has changed a lot since Marilyn first entered. Changes in funding bodies, digitalisation of records, and structural changes have meant Marilyn has had to learn quickly and adopt new policies and procedures in many of her roles. A lot of these are expected – as the business expands and grows, strategies are revised to coincide with this. However, not everything is anticipated. The Covid 19 pandemic brought a lot of new hurdles to jump across: staff shortages, new guidelines, and increased safety measures altered the way in which staff carried out their work and interacted with residents. Due to the area that Marilyn covered, flooding impacted some of the homes. Staff struggled to get to and from work, and in extreme cases, they lost most if not all of their belongings. These have been highly emotional times for all involved, but how they overcame them is the common denominator that shines through.

The adaptability and durability of Marilyn and her aged care staff over the years is highly commendable and shows what can be achieved day in and day out in Aged Care. There is a sea of lessons to be learned, so let’s hear from Marilyn herself about one of main the standout obstacles she faced during her career.

In the words of Marilyn herself

“When I was in the Head of Operations role for Uniting, one of these homes I managed was in Springwood, NSW, just east of the Blue Mountains area. This home had 170 residents at the time and is partly surrounded by bushland located at the foot of the mountains. This was a busy home due to the size, as well as developing a team that was well equipped to look after all residents comfortably and at the time new building works were being planned.

It was the week before Christmas in 2019 and during this time there were extreme bushfires. The decision was made to evacuate the home after the Friday afternoon Christmas concert. We notified all relatives and a few of the residents went back to their relative’s homes, but most of them had to be relocated to another care home. Immediately, we had several challenges on our hands. Including where to relocate residents, packing up their belongings, not forgetting essential items such as medications, considering specific needs and instructions for each resident, ensuring we had adequate supplies of food, bed linen, and enough beds, and guaranteeing safe transportation of all.

The team worked brilliantly together. Managers made multiple trips to ensure each resident made it to their temporary home safely. Keeping accurate records of each resident in the transfer was a challenge, as well as the physical aspects of bed relocation. Paired with it being during the Christmas period and the relocation lasting over two weeks, it was a high-pressured and scary time for all. Staff who were on leave made the effort to come and assist, which shows the power of working together and how valuable this is to aged care. It couldn’t have been done without everyone’s full cooperation, sheer dedication, and great communication.

As worrying as the situation was, it led to discussions about how to improve contingency plans in case it happens again, which will ensure they are even better prepared to deal with an emergency on this scale in the future. Residents were thrilled to return to their permanent home, and staff were happy to be back in their regular place of work too.

The adaptability of aged care staff

The staff were the most vital asset in this situation, the power of a team really shone through during this time. They were responsible for plans for each resident and how to relocate them and offered residents a sense of security during the process. It was a period of uncertainty for all as the evacuation lasted longer than we assumed it would, so ensuring each member worked together and passed information to each other efficiently was something that made the whole situation run a lot smoother.

Given the location of homes not just in NSW, but all-around Australia, this may occur again. It is essential that it is planned to the best of the home’s ability, but as it is a 24-hour business there will always be issues that arise that haven’t been planned for. The advice I would give to existing and new aged care workers who are faced with a situation like this would be to stay calm and think about what needs to be done in a simple, straightforward manner. Discussions afterward regarding processes but also how people felt during are important, as this will benefit everyone moving forward”.

Aged care is a fantastic and interesting environment to work in but is one that can be filled with unique obstacles. The values displayed by Marilyn and her team have proven essential to getting through this uncertain time. It’s always comforting to remember that when faced with even what seems to be the worst-case scenario, the main factor that will get you, your team, and residents through it will be working together and communicating openly with each other.

Aged care job opportunities with Sanctuary Recruitment

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