Aged Care Crackdown !

There are 220,000 people living in aged care in Australia and the recent Royal Commission was critical of the use of " chemical restraints " used in this industry.  Relatives have expressed alarm at finding their loved ones " zonked out " and unresponsive.   The rules in place stipulate that Dementia drugs be used only for short terms but the investigation found that in some cases they were in constant use.

One of the problems is that about half the aged care providers in Australia run at a loss.  The ratio of staff to patients is critical in containing running costs and dosing them with Valium is seen as a control measure.  The interim findings of the aged care Royal Commission found this practice was " inhumane, abusive and unjustified ".

An academic review of aged care research, commissioned by the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia  found that between forty percent and fifty percent of people in aged care were on medication that can cause sedation or confusion.Half of residents with dementia were taking medicines which could worsen their condition, and twenty percent of unplanned hospital admissions  were a result of inappropriate medicine use.

Aged and Community Services Australia wants medical reviews conducted more often but said most aged care operators  were not in a position to pay for additional reviews out of their own pockets.  Changes sought by the aged care sector, pharmacists and older Australians would cost the Federal budget at least $49 million over four years, based on medical reviews once a year.

We are an ageing nation and it is obvious that work in aged care is fast becoming  a growth industry. It is labour intensive because of the individual care required.  It was essential that the number of care workers is adequate to deliver the personal care that aged residents need to live a comfortable and secure life during their retirement years.

What is becoming very clear is the need for government intervention.  The standards applicable in aged care across the spectrum vary widely.  We hear horror stories about sub-standard meals and a lack of security that should not escape governing oversight.  Aged care is an essential service and it  should be both predictable and meeting a common standard of expectation.

People who choose to make a living running aged care must deliver a service that meets the required criteria or their license should be revoked.  There is just no room in the industry for shonky services and the people who suffer are the unfortunate residents who have the misfortune to be allocated to aged care homes that should not exist.

In that regard, the government needs to be unrelenting.  Aged care is a licensed occupation and standards apply.  Those standards need to be ruthlessly enforced  !