An aged care worker has shared the intense difficulty of her job in an emotional post on Facebook.
Tahlia Stagg from New South Wales described her job as leaving her and her coworkers "exhausted" and "broken".
"I'm not sure who you have to be in this world for the higher powers to listen to you but it's time someone stood up for the elderly and for aged care workers," she wrote on Friday.
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Stagg detailed the intensity of her day to day life, which begins at 6:30am. She says she has 90 minutes from the start of her shift to get 11 rest home residents ready for breakfast.
"In 8 minutes I must use a lifter to transfer each resident from their bed to the toilet, from the toilet to the shower, wash them, shave them, dry them, moisturize them, dress them, comb their hair, brush their teeth, apply hearing aids, dress their wounds, transfer them to a wheelchair, tidy their room, make their bed, empty their bin and wheel them to the dining room," she wrote on Facebook on Friday.
As Stagg is attending to these residents, she says there are a further 13 elderly people who have not yet been attended to because they are unable to walk, talk or feed themselves.
Sadly, she says the residents with verbal and physical behaviours need to take priority, as there are only four nurses for 24 high-care residents.
At 9am Stagg says all 24 residents will need the toilet at once which leaves the nurses frantically trying to cope.
"As one nurse does the medication round, another collects the breakfast trays, the remaining two are running, answering multiple buzzers and toileting several residents at a time," she writes.
By 11am, Stagg says all personal care should ideally be completed in order to begin prepping lunch.
However, Stagg says this is best case scenario as falls, injuries, and residents dying or getting sick all adds time to the care.
Her shift ends at 3pm but Stagg can't leave until the paperwork is done which sends her into unpaid overtime.
Unhappy families add to the stress. Stagg explains all they see is the negative aspects.
"They don't see us hold the hands of the man with Parkinson's to ease his shakes for just a moment, they don't see us sing quietly to their favourite old song as we feed them breakfast. They don't see us go home as a broken shattered human who has seen more in one day than a lot of people will see ever."
She finished the post with an impassioned plea to the families of the people she cares for.
"We are not incapable, we are pressed for time! You only hear about the negatives but please believe the majority of us have good hearts and look after and love your family members as our own."
Stagg's post has been shared over 1500 times, and has over 6000 comments.
“God bless you. You are an angel in the flesh,” wrote one woman.
“Sad that you have so little help with such a busy schedule,” wrote another.
“Thank you for all the care, love and attention you so freely give to each and every person. Bless you all!”
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