Health Care Consumers ACT calls for more aged care training

In a submission to a senate inquiry on the aged care workforce, Health Care Consumers ACT has highlighted concerns with the training, accreditation and language proficiency of the sector's employees.

The body has called for an increase in continuing professional development and a reassessment of the training and standards required for accreditation.

The Salvation Army Aged Care Plus was another organisation to question the quality of the aged care qualifications awarded by registered training organisations.

"It is disappointing for many aged care providers that Certificate III holders come with little or no knowledge of critical topics like manual handling, infection control and basic understanding of what personal care involves," the charity wrote.

Language and cultural barriers were highlighted as a barrier to receiving appropriate care. Health Care Consumers ACT said care recipients wanted assurance language and cultural training and support was provided to workers from different backgrounds.

In Australia, almost a quarter of direct care workers in residential aged care and 16 per cent of direct care workers in the community speak a language other than English.

"...there is the continuous complaint about staffing being untrained or only having the basic Certificate requirement and also the use of staff who have little English and/or very heavy accents," one member wrote in the submission.

"Older people need staff who are easy to understand as they have not always had contact with people from other nationalities."

The Federation of Ethnic Communities' Councils of Australia said all aged care workers should be trained in cultural competency to account for the growing number of those receiving services being of a culturally and linguistically diverse background.

The 2011 Census found 20.1 per cent of people older than 65 were born in non-English speaking countries.

"CALD workers benefit all organisations, and all clients, not just those with whom they share a CALD background," the federation wrote.

"Working in a culturally diverse environment also creates cultural competency for an organisation through direct personal interactions."

Just more than 8000 people work directly or indirectly in aged care in the ACT.

The committee is scheduled to report to Parliament on April 28.