Royal Commission into aged care 'a long time coming'

A ROYAL Commission into Aged Care has been a long time coming, according to Queensland Nurses and Midwives’ Union secretary Beth Mohle.

Union members Auriel Robinson, Kym Volp, Debbie Lindgren, Helen Andersen, Melynda McArthur and Veronica Pyke were glad to hear the Federal Government had announced a Royal Commission into aged care. September 2018. Picture: Bev Lacey

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A ROYAL Commission into Aged Care has been a long time coming, according to Queensland Nurses and Midwives' Union secretary Beth Mohle.

The QNMU launched a campaign 10 years ago highlighting the issues in aged care that are now the focus of the nation's attention.

"Nothing has really changed… this will be the 30th submission we will have put into an inquiry within 10 years," Ms Mohle said.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced on Sunday the Federal Government would establish a Royal Commission into aged care, looking into the quality of care provided in residential and home aged care, as well as young Australians with disabilities living in aged-care settings.

"Incidences of older people being hurt by failures of care simply cannot be explained or excused. We must be assured about how widespread these cases are," Mr Morrison said.

Mr Morrison said after becoming Prime Minister three weeks ago, he was advised that as a result of the increased aged care audit work the government had commissioned, the Department of Health has closed almost one aged care service per month since the Oakden scandal in South Australia in May 2017, with an increasing number under sanction to improve their care.

"As a community we expect high standards for the quality and safety of aged-care services.... This Royal Commission will be about proactively determining what we need to do in the future to ensure these expectations can be met."

Ms Mohle said the QNMU started a new campaign for legislated minimum staff to patient ratios in aged-care facilities earlier this year, and that workforce issues were a serious problem for the sector.

Over the past year, The Chronicle has reported on conditions in aged-care facilities around Toowoomba, where service providers such as Churches of Christ Care, Blue Care, and Freedom Aged Care sought to cut nursing hours.

In October 2017, The Chronicle revealed the State Government-run Dr EAF McDonald Nursing Home failed to meet nine accreditation standards after a Federal Government audit. The facility passed a follow-up audit the next month.

Yesterday, a group of Toowoomba union members welcomed the announcement of the Royal Commission.

Union member Melynda McArthur was glad to hear the Federal Government had announced a Royal Commission into aged care. September 2018. Picture: Bev Lacey

Helen Andersen said in her experience, facilities weren't rostering enough staff on to manage the large numbers of high-care patients that now resided in nursing homes.

Kym Volp said that since the '90s, nursing homes had replaced registered nurses with lower-paid, less-qualified personal care workers.

"People go into these facilities because they need nursing... but that's not what they're getting," she said.

"They're not getting the skilled, complex nursing that these older Australians need and I think that's what's caused the big blow-up now, is the fact we're getting to a tipping point where families have older parents, and people who are living a lot longer, but they're living with complex, chronic illnesses that are not being managed."

Ms Volp also said that nursing homes without RNs rostered on overnight were frequently sending patients to the emergency department of the Toowoomba Hospital for conditions that could be treated at the facility with the proper staff.

"A lot of those things are... delirium, blocked catheters, deteriorating dementia, pneumonia. Those conditions could be readily assessed and properly managed if they had skilled nurses in those environments."

While the QNMU believes legislated aged-care staffing ratios are important, Ms Mohle said she hoped the royal commission would also look into the accountability of how taxpayer money was spent in the sector, the adequacy of government funding, and poor pay and conditions.

But with a Royal Commission not expected to report back to the government for at least 12 months, Ms Mohle said the community couldn't wait that long.

"The situation is serious enough to require a royal commission but it needs action now," she said.

Originally published as Royal Commission into aged care 'a long time coming'