Staffing levels, medication management and personal hygiene were the most frequently complained about issues in residential care homes towards the end of last year. Between October and September 2021, a total of 1,639 complaints were lodged against 550 residential care ...
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A year on from the royal commission: govt talks progress, sector highlights ‘unfinished business’
The federal government has highlighted the reforms it says it has made a year after the handing down of the final report of the aged care royal commission, but the sector’s peak body is calling for increased funding and a ...
More »Aged care crisis: the need for an urgent review – opinion
Workforce shortages present a significant challenge for the aged care industry. The increasing demand of work in the field, combined with the COVID-19 pandemic management requirements, highlights an urgent need for a review of the aged care crisis. Although the ...
More »Aged care providers, unions send PM open letter demanding action
A joint open letter to Prime Minister Scott Morrison on the state of the aged care sector was published today by the Australian Aged Care Collaboration and several unions. The letter calls on the government to take action immediately to ...
More »Aged care peaks confirm merger, new scorecord on royal commission progress
Aged care peak bodies ACSA and LASA have confirmed that they will merge and hope to provide a unified voice for the aged care sector. The two major peaks, as part of the Australian Aged Care Collaboration (AACC), recently announced ...
More »Increased risk of abuse due to COVID-19: landmark report
Aged care residents faced an increased risk of abuse, delays in clinical assessments and forced admission into care during COVID-19, a new landmark report has detailed. The Older Person’s Advocacy Network (OPAN) released the first public insight into the experiences ...
More »St. Basil’s inquest: senior Victorian health official Jackie Kearney describes moment she ‘broke down’
A Victorian Department of Health official has described how she broke down in tears in the midst of a horrifying Covid outbreak that proved fatal for Melbourne aged care facility St Basil’s. The virus claimed the lives of 45 residents at the Fawkner ...
More »St. Basil’s inquest: Chief nurse grilled, surge workers quit over ‘utter exhaustion’
The surge nursing workforce brought into St. Basil’s struggled to identify residents and quit due to fear of losing their professional registration, the Victorian coroner’s court has heard. Nurse Angela Cox volunteered to lead the agency staff sent to St. ...
More »St Basil’s inquest: infection breaches, rushed handover after workers furloughed
Infection breaches and poor communication prevailed after St Basil’s aged care staff were furloughed following a positive Covid case during Melbourne’s second wave. The facility suffered the worst outbreak that swept through Victoria’s nursing homes last year, with 50 residents dying in July ...
More »Government announces new National Aged Care Advisory Council
The government has finally announced the makeup of the new National Aged Care Advisory Council, with 17 "prominent Australians" tasked with providing expert advice and guidance on aged care. The Minister for Health and Aged Care, Greg Hunt, announced the ...
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