Alcheringa restructure

The chief executive of a Swan Hill aged care facility says there will be no ratio of cleaners to resident rooms as the result of an imminent restructure, despite concerns from a cleaner that their workload would be doubled. 

Alcheringa, a 74-bed aged care home, has announced a voluntary redundancy with expressions of interest sought from staff late last month. 

Staff were informed the new roster had a decrease in leisure and lifestyle and cleaning hours.

In a letter to staff, seen by The Guardian, chief executive Jason Binder said a review of the roster at Alcheringa against industry benchmarks found there was an unsustainable level of staffing “to ensure the ongoing viability of the facility”.

An employee, who wished to remain anonymous, said staff were shocked at the restructure, two years after it merged with Island Care, a Tasmanian based aged care provider. 

The employee felt as a result of the changes cleaning of the facility would be compromised.

To read more of this story, grab a copy of Thursday’s Guardian (April 13).