Royal Commission into aged care will be based in Adelaide
A JUDGE and a former top public servant will lead the Adelaide-based national Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, Prime Minister Minister Scott Morrison has announced.
A JUDGE and a former top public servant will lead the Adelaide-based national Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, Prime Minister Minister Scott Morrison has announced.
As revealed by the The Advertiser, the commission will be held in Adelaide after the Oakden scandal led to the city being declared “ground zero” in Australia’s nursing home crisis.
Mr Morrison said the inquiry would be led by West Australian Supreme Court Justice Joseph McGrath and former Medicare Australia and Public Service Commissioner Lynelle Briggs.
“Justice McGrath and Ms Briggs bring strong investigative skills and extensive experience in corporate and public sector governance to the Royal Commission,’’ Mr Morrison said.
“Our Government wants to ensure Australians have access to the level of care and support each person would expect for themselves.’’
The commission will be formally established by Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove and provide an interim report by 31 October 2019 and its final report by 30 April 2020.
The inquiry could seek to examine events at the former Oakden Older Person’s Mental Health Service, which was the subject of a damning report by South Australia’s Independent Commissioner Against Corruption.
“The abuses exposed at the State Government-run nursing home at Oakden in Adelaide shocked our nation,’’ Mr Morrison told The Advertiser.
“The revelations played a significant role in highlighting the need for greater protections for senior Australians in residential aged care, that has led to the establishment of the royal commission. “This inquiry, to be based in Adelaide, where the abuses were first exposed, will now examine these issues on a national scale.’’
Elderly residents at the Oakden facility were over-medicated, physically abused, isolated and neglected.
Mr Morrison said it made sense for the aged care inquiry to be based in SA.
“There is a depth of professional and sector skills, capabilities and experience in South Australia that will serve the royal commissioners well, and even more importantly, ensure that the commission delivers on its terms of reference for the sake of Senior Australians and their families,’’ he said.
The Government has spent the past month consulting on terms of reference for the inquiry.
Federal Senior Australians and Aged Care Minister Ken Wyatt last month said Oakden was “ground zero for Australian aged care” and the Morrison Government was determined to prevent similar tragedies from happening elsewhere. Families of former Oakden residents hope the commission will be a “game changer” for the aged care sector.
The Federal Government has already announced it will spend more than $200 million to ensure aged care homes comply with mandatory standards to give more older Australians access to care in their own homes.
In February, ICAC Commissioner Bruce Lander said the treatment of Oakden residents had been a “shameful chapter” in the state’s history. Oakden whistleblower Stewart Johnston, whose mother Helen accused Oakden staff of repeated assaults in 2008, said the commission would allow every facet of the aged care “to be analysed forensically unlike ever before”.
“Only after all the swamps are drained and actual people jailed and systems exposed and rebuilt will we truly see justice served, the truth be told, and the most vulnerable in this country finally having a new system and renewed respect,” he said.