Nursing homes’ drugging of patients rife: AMA chief

DOCTORS have accused nursing homes of tranquillising elderly residents to make them “easier to handle’’.

Giving sleeping tablets is not a surrogate for appropriate care, AMA boss Michael Gannon has said.

DOCTORS have accused nursing homes of tranquillising elderly residents to make them “easier to handle’’.

Australian Medical Association (AMA) president Mic­hael Gannon yesterday declared doping was “rife” as he slammed the practice.

“Doctors are asked to prescribe hypnotics for no other reason but to ease the workload and that’s just not appropriate,’’ he told The Daily Telegraph.

“Giving some sleeping tablets is not a surrogate for appropriate care.’’

The AMA told the inquiry it was concerned some aged care homes do not have any nurses on site after hours. iStock

Dr Gannon said elderly people might be restless when in pain, so sedation prevented them getting treatment.

The AMA has formally warned a Senate inquiry into aged care abuse that “aged care staff are requesting sedation of residents so they are easier to handle’’.

“Restraints such as sedation should … always be considered a last resort,’’ it told the inquiry.

NSW nurses have also blown the whistle on abuse and neglect in nursing homes, with one declaring she would not even put an animal into a nursing home.

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“The police record check is a joke as abusers move from one facility to the next abusing residents, stealing and lying,’’ the anonymous nurse stated in evidence provided to the inquiry through the NSW Nur­ses and Midwives’ Association.

“Unless the reported incident is taken to court there is no record of the abuse and the perpetrators get away with it.

“I have completely lost all faith in (aged care homes) and would not send my animals to one.”

An assistant nurse warned the inquiry about staff short­ages, saying “it’s only a matter of time before a resident dies from staff taking short-cuts’’.

The nurses’ association called for a “safe staffing ratio and skills mix’’ in aged care homes. “For effective, safe care to be provided there must be adequate ratios of staff to residents, and greater professional oversight from registered nur­ses ... staff hours are not ­adequate to even meet basic care needs,” it said.

The AMA told the inquiry it was concerned some aged care homes do not have any nurses on site after hours.

It wants the federal government to force aged care homes to hire more nurses, instead of relying on lower-paid and poorly trained junior carers.

But Aged Care Minister Ken Wyatt yesterday ruled out nursing ratios: “It is the responsibility of individual homes to determine the type and numbers of staff they require to ­ensure care recipients receive high quality care.”

The federal government has launched an independent inquiry into the aged care workforce.