Scott Morrison says he can no longer ignore aged care operators putting lives at risk

AGED-care providers have been placed on notice with Prime Minister Scott Morrison announcing a royal commission into the troubled sector.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced a Royal Commission into the Aged Care sector, Pictured at Goodwin Retirement Village in Canberra. (AAP Image/Lukas Coch)

AGED-care providers have been placed on notice with Prime Minister Scott Morrison announcing a royal commission into the troubled sector, saying he can no longer ignore the alarming rate of operators flouting the law and putting lives at risk.
The Federal Government has been under pressure to crack down on the aged-care providers after a series of scandals exposed cases of neglect, cost cutting, staff shortages and abuse.
New government data has revealed there was 177 per-cent jump in the number of aged-care homes where a “serious risk” to residents had been identified in the last financial year. There was also a 292-per-cent jump in the number of facilities refusing to comply with rules.
Speaking exclusively to The Sunday Telegraph, Mr Morrison said he was “troubled” by the briefings he had received since taking the top job last month and decided to act.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced a Royal Commission into the Aged Care sector, Pictured at Goodwin Retirement Village in Canberra

“Walking by these statistics was not possible,” Mr Morrison said.
“I want to be satisfied, I want to know how widespread it is.”
The Coalition will spend the coming weeks consulting with stakeholders before announcing the terms of reference. But the royal commission is expected to focus on the quality of care provided in private and government-run aged care homes. The Sunday Telegraph understands the inquiry will also hear from young Australians with disabilities living in Residential Aged Care homes.
Recently, privately owned aged-care facilities worth billions of dollars have come under fire from advocates for putting profit ahead of patients. But Government data shows that the surging number of complaints are not restricted to any one part of the aged care sector, whether it is for profit or not for profit.
The decision to hold a royal commission into aged care was also triggered by the Oakden elder abuse scandal in South Australia where elderly dementia patients at a government-run facility were abused and neglected over a 10-year-period.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced a Royal Commission into the Aged Care sector, Pictured is St Paul’s Aged Care resident Olive Reynolds reading to 4-year-old Melody Webber

Following the revelations, the Coalition ramped up its checks and sanctions, which has resulted in the closure of almost one aged care service per month.
“As a community we expect high standards for the quality and safety of aged care services,” Mr Morrison said.

The Prime Minister said he was lucky that his parents John and Marion are still living in their family home where his mother cares for his father due to recent ill health. He said he wanted all Australians facing the difficult decision to send a family member into care to have confidence in the system.
“Whenever you make that decision, you want to be confident as a husband, wife or partner… that it's going to be okay,” he said. “They are trusting you 100-per-cent that you are making the right decisions for them. That’s a huge responsibility and people feel that really deeply.”
Today’s announcement comes less than a week after Mr Morrison told the Parliament he regretted his strong opposition to the royal commission into the banking sector.
Speaking from Sydney yesterday, the Prime Minister said as well as exposing significant misconduct, the banking royal commission was “assisting people in coming to terms with what has happened”.

The announcement comes ahead of a television investigation into the sector, due to air this week, but the Government has denied it was a trigger to act with the royal commission ticked off at a meeting of federal cabinet one week ago. In June, Labor leader Bill Shorten indicated he would "consider" a Royal Commission into aged care, but said the Government should focusing on boosting funding to the sector.

CALL FOR GREATER AGED CARE TRANSPARENCY

SPY CAMERAS FOR AGED CARE HOMES
The Coalition will hope the royal commission pledge helps its prospects as MPs head back to Canberra today for another sitting week which was expected to be overshadowed by a backbench rebellion that could force Peter Dutton to face the High Court.

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