Just Better Care

Local News

12 August 2021

What qualifications do your support staff need for your care level?

If you are receiving aged care support, it’s important you can trust your support worker. You should feel confident in their experience, qualifications and abilities. You deserve high quality care—and that means you need a quality support worker. But, what should you look for? Keep reading to find out.

What kind of care are you receiving?

The qualifications required by support professionals vary depending on what service they are providing. Essentially, the higher level of care you require, the more qualified your carer should be.

The basics

At Just Better Care, all our support professionals must have either a diploma or a Certificate III/IV in Individual Support, Aged Care, Disability or Community Service. This is the minimum requirement for all our carers, in order to keep our customers safe. When searching for a provider, you should check their team has these qualifications.

Medical care

If your carer is providing at-home nursing, they need further qualifications. For tasks like medication administration, a carer must be an Enrolled or Registered Nurse. This qualification is very important if your carer is providing medical care. For Level 4 Home Care Packages, carers will often need these nursing qualifications.

Experience matters

It’s not just formal qualifications which make a trustworthy carer. Experience is an important part of the equation. All our carers are encouraged to pursue further training for particular skills, like bowel care or how to use hoists safely. We make sure their training is always up to date. If you have a particular need, it’s worth asking your support team about their relevant experience and training. At Just Better Care we often enrol our staff in training that is particular to a customer’s needs. So, if you need specialist care—we may be able to train someone specifically for the task.

Ask your questions

You and your family deserve to know you’re in safe hands. In order for aged care support to work well, you need to feel confident. Support providers should happily provide you with further information about the skills and qualifications of their staff. When you’re looking for a support provider, be sure to ask the following questions:

What are the minimum requirements of your carers?
Do your carers have access to professional development and training?
Do your carers have experience with my particular needs?
Do you have qualified nurses on staff?

Being a carer requires skill and dedication. It isn’t an easy job. That’s why it’s important for you to find the right support provider. Find a professional and genuinely caring team—and it can make a world of difference!