Queensland Nurses and Midwives’ Union (QNMU) revealed today that BlueCare will slash up to 84 of its 130 positions in the coming weeks.
The cuts are expected to impact nurses responsible for the daily monitoring and medication of thousands of elderly Queenslanders across BlueCare’s 21 facilities state-wide.
“We are going to see a drastic drop in care,” QNMU secretary Sarah Beaman said.
“This is not good enough for our elderly, not at a time when the royal commission historically showed quality care needed to be higher.”
BlueCare today said the decision came as a result of significant changes to federal funding and said it was committed to supporting affected staff.
“We are still working with those impacted by the changes to the EN roles to identify redeployment opportunities within residential care and across the broader BlueCare and UnitingCare Queensland network,” a spokesperson said in a statement.
“They are a deeply respected part of our team, and we want to retain their skills and dedication within our Uniting Care family – final outcomes are still to be determined, but redundancy numbers are expected to be significantly less than quoted.”
Beaman urged families to check on their residents in BlueCare.
“Ask for a roster… ask BlueCare management for a reason behind this because simply not being able to afford it, that’s just, it’s not good enough,” Beaman said.
“You can’t take this many people out of an aged care workforce at that skill level and not replace that skill level and not see a drop.
“This is purely budgetary.
“This is purely aimed at profits.
“There is absolutely no reason that BlueCare cannot continue to pay the enrolled nurses.”
The union has referred BlueCare to Aged Care Minister Sam Rae and the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission.
