Mar 06, 2018

Reflecting on quality in aged care and evolving expectations, hear from industry leaders

Ian Yates AM, CEO COTA Australia interviews keynote speakers Amy Laffan, Assistant Secretary of the Aged Care Quality and Regulatory Reform Branch and Andrea Coote, Chair, Aged Care Quality Advisory Council from the Criterion Conference Quality in Aged Care #agedcarequality18

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.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

  1. Over 200 years ago Adam Smith wrote “The learned ignore the evidence of their senses to preserve the coherence of the ideas of their imagination”. These industry advocates are deaf to what critics and the data showing deficient staffing are revealing. They are pressing on with a reform process that is not working and cannot work because the reforms they describe are the cause of the problems.

    Both government and industry should be responsible to citizens – the communities whose role in a civilised society is to be responsible citizens and so support their members. The community should be there for them in their time of need. At the senate hearing in Adelaide families called out for just someone independent to be there for them when they needed support and that is a core problem across the sector. Government and market are incapable of regulating a system like this or of providing that support. At both the Senate and House of Representatives inquiries the Agency and the Department adopted a ‘hands off’ approach and refused to take any responsibility for their failures. We cannot depend on them.

    Regulation, oversight and resident support should be moved into local communities and include local citizens. This oversight could be built around an empowered local visitors scheme working in each community and with providers to collect data and monitor standards transparently. Citizens would be in a position to support residents, see what was happening, confirm it with data and then put direct and immediate pressure on poor performance and support those who actually care about (and for) their staff and residents.

    Competitive markets, which by their very nature are predatory, work when real people in a real world with real power deal directly and promptly with real issues in the marketplace. We recognize that services for indigenous communities work when they have control over the way services provided in their communities yet we deny this to other Australians. Aged Care Crisis is pressing for a system that treats all groups equally!

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

The house residents living with dementia can visit to maintain meaning and purpose

When the house next door came up for sale at a regional aged care facility, management bought it and set it up like a ‘regular’ home so residents living with dementia could visit – and take part in cooking, cleaning and gardening. The residents are much happier since they have been enabled to continue taking part in simple household tasks, said the home’s dementia and wellbeing consultant. Read More

ENs endorsed to give medication should receive higher pay

  It is reasonable to expect those who take on greater responsibilities in their jobs and who earn higher qualifications would receive a heavier pay packet, too. When the progression means you carry greater responsibility for the health and wellbeing of older people who often have significant health issues, that expectation would be doubly understandable.... Read More

“Anything is possible”: 81-year-old living with dementia performs with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra

Paul Harvey, the music teacher whose composition from four notes went viral and raised more than one million pounds for charity, has now performed his piece with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra. Read More
Advertisement