Aged care providers say that compulsory reporting of all ‘serious incidents’ in aged care homes will create too much paperwork, and should not be introduced.
Aged care provider Anglicare told the federal parliamentary inquiry into aged care that when caring for senior citizens, society must ‘tolerate some faiture’, The Courier Mail has reported.
Anglicare said introducing compulsory reporting of all deaths, falls, and assaults may encourage aged care providers to use excessive force, such as tying residents down, to prevent incidents from arising.
Aged care provider HammondCare told the enquiry that compulsory reporting would create more paperwork, which would mean staff were less available to care for residents.
Uniting Care, which operates aged care homes, said making data on aged care home incidents public could make carers reluctant to discuss matters that arise, The Courier Mail reported.
Both the federal government’s review of aged care reform and the Australian Law Reform Commission have recommended that mandatory reporting of ‘serious incidents’ be introduced for aged care facilities.
Last year, aged care homes notified the police and the Health Department of 2,853 alleged assaults against elderly residents.
The current rules specify that aged care homes must report assaults within 24 hours, unless the alleged perpetrator has ‘mental impairments’, such as dementia.
Earlier in the week, Federal Minister for Aged Care, Ken Wyatt said aged care homes must be more transparent, and aged-care directors and managers must be held accountable for elder abuse.
I cannot believe that 3 major providers of Aged Care could possibly want to hide incidents of Abuse and would have any issue with all providers notifying the ‘watch dog’ of our industry. My first thought is ‘What are you hiding?” Documentation should be streamline within their organisations such that the declaration and provision of documents should require no more than the flick of a switch! Their documentation review should take place each time a significant incident occurs as a mater of quality care?
What a cop out. Children in care and abuse or major concerns must be reported. Doctors can be sued for not reporting abuse yet in aged care, the paper work could be too hard. Abuse is abuse- it’s the same cover up that leaves many elderly being abused and neglected. It must be compulsory because these people are in care . Hospitals have to report abuse, so must aged care. How dare aged care providers want to hide these incident. I reported a worker many years ago now to the Health Commission because I couldn’t work out why so many had nasty bruises and sometimes blood on their arms or lags. The worker was pinching them!!!
It was quickly dealt with, and the worker sacked with a charge against her. Having worked in Child Protection as well as aged care, abuse is abuse no matter what age the victim is.