Additional support staff should help to relieve the nursing staff.
CARINTHIA. In tomorrow’s government meeting, a further increase in the staff for Carinthian nursing homes will be decided – plus 120 additional employees from January 1, 2023
More nursing staff
After the increase in staff in September, the next “increase decision” will follow tomorrow: “Our goal was and is to relieve the nursing staff and to increase the quality of care by reducing the staff ratio,” emphasizes health officer Beate Prettner. She announces an act for tomorrow’s government meeting that will employ 120 additional assistants. “Most recently, on September 13th, we decided to increase the staff ratio with an amendment to the Carinthian Home Ordinance: At that time, we decided on 56 additional full-time jobs. Tomorrow we will add 120 full-time jobs,” said Prettner.
Relief is the goal
These will be “auxiliary staff to relieve the qualified nursing staff”. Above all, it is about taking over activities that are currently (also) done by nursing staff, such as serving food. As Prettner reports, the measure will initially be limited to six months due to the provisional budget. The additional costs for this period amount to around 2.4 million euros – and were agreed between the province of Carinthia, the association of cities and municipalities.
real circumstances
It is very important to relieve the nursing staff – be it through administrative staff, auxiliary staff or animation staff. As Prettner explains, the support staff and home help are constantly being increased. “But we also have to adjust the increase to the real situation – especially the availability of the staff. For example, we added a transitional period until January 1, 2023 for the increase decided in September,” says Prettner. “The further increase that we will decide tomorrow will take effect immediately. Because this time it’s about assistants without special nursing training. And these should be available on the labor market.”