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Must Read Proposed new quality commission must be independent of government and peak body interests, expert pleads

Aged care oversight and regulation should be removed from government control, so long as no aged care providers or peak bodies have roles on governing bodies, an aged care expert has proposed. Read more

4 key takeaways from the aged care royal commission’s final report

By Stephen Duckett

Over two years, through more than 10,500 submissions and 600 witnesses, the two commissioners heard extensive evidence of a system in crisis. Australians might have expected the commissioners to provide one streamlined blueprint for reform. But the commissioners diverged on a number of large and some smaller recommendations. This makes the already complex path to reform even more confusing. It reduces the power of the final report. More disappointingly, it gives the government room to pick and choose recommendations as the cabinet likes. Nonetheless, if the major recommendations are adopted, Australia will get a transformed aged care system over the next five years. Here are our top four takeaways from this landmark report. Read More

Risky practice: Personal care workers are being asked to administer insulin

By Caroline Egan

Aged care workers with only Cert III qualifications are being asked to administer insulin to their home care clients, even though they are not qualified to do so. Read More

Vaccine not mandatory in aged care, but staff who refuse it may have hours slashed

By Caroline Egan

“Refusing to take a vaccine is like refusing to wear a mask. If you don’t like it, then work somewhere else,” says an epidemiologist advisor to the WHO with a strong message for aged care workers. Read More

We all hope for a ‘good death’. But many aged-care residents are denied proper end-of-life care

By Davina Porock

Death is inevitable, and in a civilised society everyone deserves a good one. It would therefore be logical to expect aged-care homes would provide superior end-of-life care. But sadly, palliative care options are often better for those living outside residential aged care than those in it. Read More

#WisdomWednesday

Wisdom Wednesday is about celebrating the experience and wisdom of our elders across the globe through storytelling. It's through these stories that we attempt to elevate their often unspoken worth and value of age unwittingly lost to peers and future generations. Do you have an elders story to share or are you an elder yourself that would like to be interviewed? Help us celebrate the lives of our elders through Wisdom Wednesday, a weekly segment posted ironically every Wednesday. Our older generation is by definition the most experienced members of our community but as they age and transition into more passive, physically constrained roles in society, their importance and roles too often dwindle, particularly so as they enter long term care. 

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