Nursing students are rejecting careers in aged care. A staffing crisis is coming

Drazen Zigic/Getty Images A ministerial advisory group delivered a blunt verdict on the state of aged care in New Zealand last week. The system, as it stands, cannot cope with the projected rise in the number of New Zealanders aged 65 or over, from 950,000 today to 1.3 million by 2040. Without change, the report warns, New Zealand faces a shortfall of more than 9,000 residential care beds within a decade. Problems are already emerging through workforce shortages, bed closures and…