Feb 06, 2018

Aged Care Watchdog says “Oakden was not out Fault”

What happened at Oakden, a South Australian aged care facility was a great tragedy that went on for far too long.

It was found that for years, there were countless accounts of elder abuse and neglect, which eventually lead to the closing of the facility.

Though the staff and those in positions of care are responsible for what when on in the facility, questions arise as to how it went on for such an extended period without any regulatory bodies knowing.

The aged care watchdog denied responsibility for abuse and mistreatment of residents at Adelaide’s Oakden nursing home.

Australian Aged Care Quality Agency chief executive, Nick Ryan, was asked about the organisation’s handling of the saga during a Senate inquiry hearing on Monday night.

“Poor care is unacceptable and where there is an incident of poor care and a pervasive culture as there was at Oakden, every single part of the system clearly has the opportunity to learn lessons,” Ryan said.

He wouldn’t accept responsibility for the neglect and abuse, “it’s the provider that is responsible,” he said.

Ryan acknowledged his organisation could have done better, should have dug deeper and not accepted misinformation from the home.

“That home should not have fallen off our watch list,” he said.

“Questions about blame are a different issue.”

Independent Commissioner Against Corruption to release report

South Australia’s Independent Commissioner Against Corruption just yesterday said that they will release a report with the findings from his secretive maladministration probe into the Oakden nursing home.

Commissioner Bruce Lander has said, “I have decided that it is in the public interest that my final report is published and I intend to do so”.

In his report, Lander will name  at least three figures linked to the State Government-run facility.

There were delays in releasing the report, according to Lander, because there was questions as to whether he was allowed to name the individuals in his report without their consent.

“This matter has necessarily resulted in a delay in bringing the investigation to an end,” Lander said.

“While this has been a distraction those persons were entitled to make submissions and it was appropriate that the matter be determined.”

Landers announced that he was going to conduct a maladministration probe into the health department’s management of the Oakden last May – making his investigation span almost nine months.

“Having determined the matter I will now proceed to finalise my investigation. The collection of evidence is complete,” Mr Lander said.

The final report will be published on February 28.

What do you have to say? Comment, share and like below.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Should Aged Care Providers Be Made To Publish Incidents on Their Websites?

With all the talk about the need for transparency in the aged care industry, the news of the new open disclosure framework for aged care operators is already being seen as a step in the right direction by the countless families who have loved ones living in aged care facilities around the country.  The new... Read More

120,000 older Australians remain on home care waiting lists

  Older Australians are still having to wait more than 12 months to receive higher level home care packages, according to the latest data from the government. And though the number of people on waiting lists for home care packages has fallen slightly, it remains at almost 120,000.  With wait times standing at more than... Read More

An Agenda for Change in the Aged Care Industry

HelloCare Exclusive – This is the final article in a series of 4. Read Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3. The Aged Care Workforce Strategy Taskforce will deliver its findings in a report to the Minister for Aged Care, the Hon Ken Wyatt, this week. The strategy includes pragmatic actions to better support the workforce... Read More
Advertisement
Exit mobile version