Residents interviewing aged care staff – are we there yet?

The Governor-General was handed the report of the aged care royal commission on Friday. It will be made public in the coming week. Overlaying its considerations has been Australia’s 909 deaths from COVID-19, more than two-thirds of them (685) people in aged care facilities. It has to be recognised that COVID accounts for an extremely small share of deaths in Australia, and even deaths of senior citizens. 127,082 Australians aged 70 and over died in 2019. To date 851 in that age group have died of COVID. Some good might come from these sad deaths if they prompted us to think about where we are likely to die. Read More

During the Ministerial Advisory Panel’s consultation process, many representations from nurses were evident, in written responses community meetings, and a meeting organised for nurses by the ANMF. Unsurprisingly, opinions heard on voluntary assisted dying were many and varied, mirroring those views the community. Concerns from palliative care nurses are quite specific; that dying people are... Read More

Scott Morrison has announced his post-election Cabinet today, with WA politician Hon. Ken Wyatt announced as the first indigenous person to be appointed as Indigenous Affairs Minister, replacing Northern Territory Senator Nigel Scullion following his retirement. Mr Wyatt however will step down from his Aged Care portfolio and will be handing this over to Hon. Richard Colbeck, making... Read More