Albury aged care nurses and supporters gathered yesterday in an effort to highlight the need for change in the sector.
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The information session at Albury's Australia Park comes as the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety looks to hand down its final report later this month.
Albury assistant in nursing Janine Quinn said the event was about shining a light on the four areas deemed to be the most urgent when it comes to change in aged care.
Ms Quinn agreed staffing ratios, on-going skill development, more government funding, as well as transparency and accountability for funding are the key areas of concern.
"We do believe that those four things are what need to be addressed first," she said.
"What today is mainly about is getting that information out there and making sure that people are aware of what has been voted as being the most important things, not just by the unions, but members of the community."
Ms Quinn has worked in aged care for five years, having also looked after her mother for three years prior to that.
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After working throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, she admitted both staff and residents had felt the strain.
"It's been about helping them (residents) to get through it," she said.
"A lot of them don't understand why all of a sudden they can't see their families.
"We need to have more time with them, and unfortunately due to ratios, we haven't been able to give them the time that we would like and they deserve to get them through.
"It's about the ability to give basic human rights.
"We want to be able to let people live the way they want to live."
Fellow Albury AIN Peggy Andreou said often residents see the nurses as family.
"They do emotionally rely on us," she said.
"It's hard to leave work and go home knowing that they're understaffed.
"Even though we try not to show it, the residents feel the pinch."
Ms Andreou has been an AIN for nine years and said in that time she has seen an increased need for funding.
Other members of the NSW Nurses and Midwives' Association are set to gather for similar sessions around the state in the coming weeks before the Royal Commission's final reports land on February 26.
A petition is circulating for both aged care nurses and the general public to sign to help bring about change.
"Our biggest hope is that people get behind us and sign the petition so that the government sees what the most important things are to everyone," Ms Quinn said.
