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Aged care services- what to do when things go wrong!

Covid -19 has really highlighted the deficiencies in Aged care services or with aged care providers across Australia. Horror stories have arisen showcasing the abuse and neglect found in some residential settings, as well as the issue of staff shortages in the aged care industry. This is not to say every aged care facility or service is bad, there are many, many facilities and services that care enormously AND professionally for their aged clients and are horrified themselves by these cases of elder and patient abuse. However knowing- either as the person directly affected, as a family member or friend ,worker or volunteer, about what to do when something does go wrong within the aged facility or in the community care service, is a must, in order to make sure our aged loved ones are safe and well treated.

Aged care services are governed by policy/legislation and hopefully best practice and these (as well as the aged persons rights) are supposed to be easy to find within the providers practice standards, on their websites, in their facilities or business operations. They are supposed to be easy to understand by the general public. The aged persons rights (and responsibilities) are also supposed to be explained when a resident moves into a facility or a service is provided.

Below is a new initiative from the government stating that aged care providers must report serious issues when they occur, provide a way to manage and reduce the risk of future serious issues and interact positively with all parties involved when a serious incident occurs.

Generally the first line of contact when an issue arises is to communicate this issue directly to the service provider, how ever if this cannot be done due to no response or fear of abuse or further neglect from the provider then contacting a support service is the way to go. Organisations such as Advocare, Opan and Cota can assist when the aged care service does not respond to the complaint in an appropriate way.

Aged services are also expected to inform authorised loved ones (have open disclosure) when a serious issue has affected the aged person under their care.

So hopefully the aged loved one’s aged facility service etc has done the right thing after an incident has occurred and the aged person is again safe and the people around them are also safe, either way if you feel the need to express your compliments, grievances or just have a thought to share on aged care in general then feedback can be given via Care Opinion.

Lastly knowing what is the best place for your aged loved one to reside is important. If homecare is now no longer working then residential care may be needed. If the residential facility hasn’t worked, maybe living with family would work (with outside support). Look at all the options available, keeping in mind it’s your aged loved ones right to make decisions for themselves if still capable of doing so.

 
 
 

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