Federal Government vows to attack aged abuse
Article from: Sunday Herald Sun
March 23, 2008 02:06pm
THE Federal Government has pledged to crack down on abuses in aged care following a damning report into the sector.
The report by the Office of Aged Care Quality and Compliance shows an alarming rise in cases of abuse and mistreatment in aged care facilities.
In the six months to January the number of care breaches tripled to almost 4000, the report found. Cases investigated include allegations of serious physical assault, medical mismanagement and failed personal care, with the majority in Victoria.
In response, Federal Ageing Minister Justine Elliot said police check requirements for staff at aged care facilities would be strengthened. Currently only staff with unsupervised access to residents are required to have police checks. Ms Elliot said the Aged Care Standards and Accreditation Agency (ACSA) would also make an extra 3000 visits per year to aged care facilities. The agency will also be given more powers and be required to have clinical staff check up on residents. "I make no apology for the fact that my priority is ensuring that frail, aged and vulnerable seniors are protected," Ms Elliot said in a statement. "There is much to be done in this area, and many improvements to be made. I am rolling up my sleeves and getting on with the job."
The Australian Nursing Federation (ANF) welcomed the measures but said more needed to be done. ANF federal secretary Jill Iliffe said all care staff in nursing homes should be licensed as well as require police checks. A licensed system would require a regulatory body to develop a set of standards for workers, who would be held accountable if they failed to reach them. "Licensing is the only way to ensure vulnerable, older Australians requiring residential aged care are looked after properly," Ms Iliffe said in a statement. "It would ensure assistants in nursing and personal care assistants worked to a code of ethics and provided a high level of care."
The union also called for an urgent increase in staffing levels. Ms Elliot said the government would conduct a review of the Aged Care Act. "What's important is to make sure we have enough regulations in place to protect all of our older Australians that are within nursing homes and that is what my focus is," Ms Elliot told the Macquarie Radio Network. The Department of Health and Ageing oversees more than 2,870 accredited nursing homes with 167,070 aged care beds across Australia.
Copyright- AAP
SOURCE: heraldSunNews
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