Aged care quality and safety commission opens, following Oakden care home abuse

Australia’s toughest ever aged care watchdog will open its doors on Wednesday in response to the Oakden scandal.

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• READ BELOW: Glengowrie test case for aged care focus

Australia’s toughest ever aged care watchdog will open its doors on Wednesday in response to the Oakden scandal.

The independent Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission today will launch its one-stop quality and safety website and a single new contact number for aged care concerns.

The commission will also use a $16 million funding boost to hire about 30 additional auditors to enforce standards and conduct random visits to aged care providers.

Minister for Aged Care Ken Wyatt told The Advertiser the commission would better target substandard care and ensure the safety and security of senior Australians.

Mr Wyatt said formation of the independent commission was a key recommendation of the Carnell-Paterson Review, ordered by the Government following South Australia’s Oakden aged care tragedy.

The Oakden Older Person Mental health facility that was shut down.

Minister for Aged Care Ken Wyatt.

“A single commissioner overseeing compliance monitoring, complaints and customer service means no more silos,” Mr Wyatt said. “For the first time, senior Australians and their loved ones have one place to go when they need help, want to raise a concern, or access information about an aged care service.”

The commissioner’s new website includes details on:
AGED care consumer rights;
ACCESS to free advocacy services to support senior Australians;
CONSUMER Experience Reports about individual aged care services;
ACCESS to audit reports on aged care homes;
HOW to register complaints, including tips on documenting concerns;
NEW resources to help providers meet the standards: and
TRANSLATION services to support non-English-speaking clients.

The commission will begin operations as the Royal Commission into Aged Care, again prompted by the Oakden scandal, in Adelaide this month.

The state-run Oakden Older Persons Mental Health Service was shut down in 2017 after a damning report revealed residents had been over-medicated, physically abused and isolated.

The inaugural Commissioner, Janet Anderson, said she was delighted to open the new commission and was ready for strong engagement with senior Australians, their families and aged care providers.

“Our key focus will be on safeguarding the more than 1.3 million senior Australians who receive some form of aged care service,” Ms Anderson said.

“The commission’s vision is to support a world-class aged care service driven by empowered consumers who enjoy the best possible quality of life.

“Unannounced re-accreditation audits of aged care homes will triple in 2019 and there will be more than 3000 unannounced inspections.

Glengowrie test case for aged care focus

By Matt Smith

Federal health department staff have been asked to investigate the needs of a 78-year-old Glengowrie woman who has been bedridden with an amputated leg and crushed vertebrae.

In what appears to be a bureaucratic oversight, wheelchair-bound Michaeline Germinario has been left with just a few hours a week support, including none over the weekend, despite needing daily help with care including showering.

Mrs Germinario has been trying to get additional help at home since March last year through a program aimed at keeping older Australians living in their own homes for longer.

Federal Aged Care minister Ken Wyatt has asked the Department of Health for information on Mrs Germinario’s case. The inquiry was prompted by a letter from Labor MP Steve Georganas who wrote to Mr Wyatt on December 11.

“Despite the Minister’s office assuring an urgent 10-day turnaround, they seem to have shut up shop until January 7,” Mr Georganas said.

One of Mrs Germinario’s legs has been amputated and the other is ulcerated, which means she is unable to move unassisted. “I don’t know why they sent me home with only two hours of care,” she said.