Townsville aged care advocates welcome royal commission into elder abuse

NORTH Queensland aged care residents and their families will be given a chance to share concerns and reports of elder abuse in a royal commission.

NORTH Queensland aged care residents and their families will be given a chance to share concerns and reports of elder abuse in a royal commission.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison yesterday announced a royal commission into the aged care sector following damning incidents of neglect and abuse in nursing homes across the country.

The terms of reference, cost and date of the commission are not yet set, but Mr Morrison said it would begin before the upcoming Federal election and run until the second half of 2019 at least.

It comes as the Queensland Nurses and Midwives’ Union (QNMU) released its analysis of an audit of aged care facilities across the state.

The audit found issues of understaffing and associated elder neglect in every electorate, including Herbert.

According to the report the average number of care hours provided each day in aged care facilities in Herbert, which takes in almost all of Townsville, was 2.79.

This was well below Australian Nursing and Midwife Federation benchmark of 4.3 hours of care per day.

QNMU secretary Beth Mohle said the results were “startling”.

“Queensland’s aged care facilities are in crisis due to chronic understand and the complete lack of federal staffing laws in Australia’s private aged care industry,” she said.

The audit revealed aged care home residents often waited longer than they should after asking for assistance and staff shortages meant there was not enough time to complete hygiene cares for residents.

National Seniors Association, Townsville Central Branch President Heather Wynne said she hoped the commission would give seniors a bit more security.

“I used to work in a nursing home down in Victoria and you were never sure if the residents were getting exactly the right care,” she said.

“Even though I was just a worker, some things you saw, you knew that’s just not right.”

Ms Wynne said she hoped a wide range of issues facing the elderly were addressed in the commission.

“Were just a small group here in Townsville … but we see the big issues like transport or struggling to keep the power bill paid,” she said.

“If a pensioner isn’t eating so they can pay the bills, well that’s a serious concern for the government.”

Originally published as Townsville aged care advocates welcome royal commission into elder abuse