The future of Queensland's nursing homes and ongoing patient care is under threat from a massive shortage of aged care nurses.
The problem is so bad a 4.7 million euros aged care facility built nine months ago at Yeppoon in central Queensland has been unable to find enough nurses to open its doors.

According to nursing unions, a shortfall of up to 500 aged care nurses in Queensland is threatening the viability of nursing homes and standard of elderly care. The looming crisis is being largely blamed on the widening gap between what general and aged care nurses are paid. In just three years the wages gap between the two has blown out from 52 euros per week to 120 euros, making it difficult for aged care facilities to compete against hospitals for staff.
Exacerbating the problem is the state's ageing population.

An extra 300,000 baby boomers are predicted to call Queensland home over the next 15 years, placing more strain on aged care facilities. Queensland Nurses Union spokeswoman Anne Garrahy said the failure to attract aged care nurses, particularly in regional areas, was likely to jeopardise quality of service. The Federal Government announced an extra 545 million euros to help aged care providers "pay more competitive wages to staff" in the Budget. Nationwide, there are 17,955 registered nurses working in aged care, with 4757 in Queensland.