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By 2006 morale in nursing homes had reached an
all time low. Neglect, elder abuse and apathetic
staff were prevalent. When government claimed that
the rape of multiple patients in a nursing home was
an isolated event in a well functioning system the
floodgates opened. The government was forced not
only to act but to act more effectively. The
measures set in place are likely to restrain and
contain the worst excesses. They do not address the
key issues in policy responsible for what happened.
Government used its response as an opportunity to
promote its ideology in the nursing home context.
This page charts these events.
Santo Santoro
2006
By 2006 there was a new federal aged care minister Santo Santoro. Six months earlier a senate committee review had pinpointed serious problems in nursing homes, in the complaints system and in the accreditation process. It had made recommendations but the previous minister had ignored them.
Santoro’s mettle was soon tested as a new scandal erupted and as further deficiencies were revealed in the complaints mechanism and in the accreditation process. It was now clear that something had to be done and it is to his credit that he managed this much better than his predecessors.
That said there are limits to what a politician tied to inappropriate policies by party doctrine and a business constituency can do. Santoro introduced far more stringent oversight, police checks on employees, mandatory reporting and hopefully a workable complaints system. He seems to have recognised the deskilling and understaffing which had resulted from his government policies but did not properly address them.
Details are not available but it seems that some proposals have been watered down. He did not even consider the underlying problems inherent in government policy. While this was a good effort which will help to contain abuses it was still a band aid solution.
While the government's public relations efforts had made much of what it was doing for the aged it is clear that there was little real motivation behind the claims. A series of ineffective ministers had held the portfolio. The government was way behind in its new beds target, and its accreditation and refurbishing program. Conditions in nursing homes were steadily deteriorating. This was in large measure a result of the profits before care culture consequent on government policies.
Geriatricians once had input into the way the aged were cared for in nursing homes but government had put an end to it. A culture of caring had been replaced by a culture of disinterest and apathy, one based on process and minimal requirements. This was so bad that even a senior person such as a nursing supervisor was so apathetic that she did not see it as her role to report the rape of one of her charges.
Meaningful social interaction had broken down to the extent that some staff aided and abetted each other in taunting residents. Social misfits who would rape 90 year olds continued in the system, operated in several homes and were not reported by staff. In a functioning and caring community of which the residents were a part these people would be shunned and pushed out.
THE number of nursing home places in almost every region of South Australia is lagging behind the Federal Government's target ratio of available beds.
Apr 2006 Bed shortage gets worse
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While no official waiting lists are kept, Productivity Commission research suggests waiting times are increasing.In 2000, almost 87 per cent of people got into a nursing home within three months of being assessed. Now almost 30 per cent of people assessed as needing nursing home care take longer than three months.
SA nursing homes struggling to cope with rising demand Aged care crisis looms The Advertiser April 7, 2006
FOR too long the Federal Government has ignored the neglect and abuse of the elderly and impaired in some of the nation's nursing homes.
Apr 2006 Summarising the position
Six years ago the Herald Sun exposed the scandalous kerosene baths affair where 57 elderly patients were bathed in kerosene to treat suspected skin conditions.
Since then there have been repeated example of outrageous neglect and abuse, ranging from allegations of rape, assaults, medicine confusion and fire-risk homes.
This appalling state of affairs has been overseen by the bureaucracy under successive ministers.
Supervision relied on an absurd process in which nursing homes were told in advance of inspections. This gave them the chance to clean up their act.
Someone cares at last Herald Sun EDITORIAL April 11, 2006
Some residents in WA's nursing homes are so malnourished that they are turning up at emergency departments with symptoms similar to AIDS victims, according to a leading aged care specialist.
Apr 2006 Elderly residents starving across Australia
Royal Perth Hospital aged care services physician Roger Warne said the "revolving door" of malnourished elderly patients was partly because of inadequate staffing and training at nursing homes.
Dr Warne said that while some patients were malnourished because they were seriously ill or dying, others found the food unappealing or couldn't physically feed themselves.
"The quality of feeding programs at some residential facilities is not optimal. Increased staff numbers and better training could allow elderly residents to be manually fed," he said.
He called for an aged care teaching program to be set up in Perth and for more co-operation between Perth's major hospitals and nursing homes.
"You've got no control of what's going on once you've sent the (patients) out," he said.
"Aged care physicians consult in institutional care but are not involved in medical direction as used to occur in government nursing homes, which have been closed."
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Victoria's Austin Health aged care director Michael Woodward said people were dying of malnutrition in nursing homes across Australia."There is no doubt that if a person is about to die they are less likely to eat. But some are about to die because they haven't been given the opportunity to eat," he said. "There is a real problem with resourcing and we need better awareness."
UWA geriatric medicine professor Leon Flicker said some elderly people were not getting the assistance they needed to eat.
"A lot of people in residential care are confused, can't eat, don't want to eat. Good quality care is when people help them eat," he said.
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Aged Care Crisis Team spokeswoman Lynda Saltarelli said she regularly got complaints from relatives of nursing home residents, who said their loved ones were starving.
Aged 'starving' in nursing homes The West Australian April 29, 2006
It is clear that large numbers of motivated nurses and nurse aids had been doing what the residents could not do and walking away from the sector. The causes of this seems to be multifactorial including the governments abandonment of adequate staff patient ratios, changes in society, low pay and poor work conditions, and the valuing of money and paperwork over people and their humanity. This is exactly what happened in the USA in response to a similar situation.
As a consequence the dregs of society including criminals, psychopaths, sexual predators and every other misfit have been drawn into the system. They can get nominal training in which they display little interest. Morale breaks down. Apathetic staff tolerate the abuse and ridicule of residents by these misfits without complaining. As in the USA elderly ladies were sexually abused and raped. This is clearly much more common than those who should be doing something about the situation will concede. Those nursing homes where morale has been lost and staff are most demoralised are the ones where residents are neglected and misused. They are most at risk of elder abuse rape.
The scandal broke at the George Vowel Nursing Home in Victoria. The home had a poor track record and was owned by a company where another home had problems 2 years earlier. Four George Vowel patients in their 90s were repeatedly raped or sexually abused. Staff who knew about it did nothing and when management found out they apparently mounted their own investigation and only called in the police when instructed by the agency.
Worse still it was revealed that the offender worked for an agency and had been sent to other homes. There is no report into an investigation at these other homes. How many of these other at risk seniors were raped?
SENATOR SANTO SANTORO: Again, that's something I need to be advised on, but the important thing is that after we were made aware, after the Department was made aware of the rape allegations we immediately on November 24 visited the facility. We instructed the provider to notify the police of the incident, or the allegations, and we also independently advised the police.
Feb 2006 Minister responds to rape allegations
Aged care debate LATELINE ABC TV February 21, 2006
The Australian has learned the accused man worked at several other homes in his capacity as a temporary carer working for an agency.
Feb 2006 Residents at several homes at risk from rapist
Summit ordered on aged care abuse The Australian February 22, 2006
for more reports see Lateline reports in February 2006
The family of one of the residents had complained repeatedly to the aged care agency about standards of care and neglect at the home. Their complaints had been ignored.
The George Vowel scandal is described and analysed on the Ellis and Elfam company's web page. Only the consequences and governments response are addressed here.
The George Vowel scandal caused others to come forward and there were soon more complaints. There were tales of systematic management cover ups and bullying
LILLIAN JETER: Well first of all, I want to say that the three of them (nurses) came to me. They were absolutely distressed. These are carers that have been in aged care for quite a long time. So they're not new to the system at all. They said that not only was there physical abuse with the pinning and the restraining of that particular female resident. She was hearing impaired, she was also blind. They put her and forced her into the chair that she was in and threw her across by the chair, through the dining room, to humiliate her in front of the other residents. She is a dementia resident along with the other residents. And then, later when she was very quiet, they went with her, with water bottles and then they used the water bottles...
Feb 2006 More damning allegations
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Not only that, Tony. There was also one gentleman who was forced into the shower. He's naked, they're forcing him and taking control of him. There's also faeces that are smeared on the walls of the facility. There's a lot of questionable safety issues with the keys going missing to that facility for a long time. Intimidation, fear, harassment, harassment of the employees. These are carers that are trying to do the right thing for dementia residents.
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They were so upset at what is going trying to do their best as carers, but because of the management, because of the culture, they cannot do what they want to do - what they need to do.
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AGED CARE WORKER: A staff member plus another member, one afternoon with this same woman, squirted a water bottles at this woman, antagonise behaviours, just because why not? It's fun.
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In the kitchen this woman was seated in a chair, walked by with a water bottle and squirted water at this woman.
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On her face, on her body and it happened more than once. I believe it was twice or three times that it has happened. The person that saw it a second time mentioned it to the manager. Nothing was done, there was no reprimand, there was no nothing. And this person that has also seen other instances go on is now afraid to say anything. When she has in the past, our manager currently there just says, "Don't worry about it, it will be fine."
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This particular woman was antagonised continually to upset behaviours. The culture, I believe, the reason behind it is to medicate residents so that they are just sitting doing nothing and therefore they don't have to actually attend to them, care for them.REPORTER: Oh my gosh. So what you're saying is that they bring on bad behaviour, so they have an excuse. So then they don't have to...
AGED CARE WORKER: To make them worse, because then I can either have them transferred to a nursing home or they're medicated to the point that they're just blubbering messes, sitting there doing nothing and I don't have to look after them.
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AGED CARE WORKER: In the facility, in this particular facility, it was starting to happen before I left more and more and you feel you have - you can't do anything. You have no recourse to say anything. Because if you do say anything, you are then bullied by management, from right up, the head office right the way down. You have no recourse. There is nowhere - you put in reports and say that this is happening. Nothing is ever done. It disappears never to be seen again.
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These people, these residents deserve better than what they are getting and to be put to bed early for no reason - when I mean early, five o'clock in the afternoon, laying in bed all night, not moving literally.
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REPORTER: Why do they have to go to bed so early?AGED CARE WORKER: They don't, but so the staff don't have to care for them.
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TONY JONES: I should interrupt here to say we have had a short response from the Health Department, a spokesperson for the Health Department tonight, in fact, on behalf of the federal Minister for Aged Care. They're saying these allegations have been investigated and that no issues of abuse were substantiated. Are you aware of that investigation?
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REPORTER: In the cases when medications have been mixed up and you told us a terrible story where people were left on the wrong medication for four days...
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AGED CARE WORKER: The words that were told to me by the acting manager at the time that came in to deal with this incident was, "This will not be discussed with anybody."
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The families have never, to my knowledge, been actually told what happened. One of the family members came up to me on more than one occasion and said, "What happened?" And I had to say, "I do not know, I'm sorry, I cannot help you. Ask the manager. I don't know, they haven't told us what happened." I could not tell these people what had really happened.
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I think there should be an investigation, not only of that particular facility but we're getting - the association, the Elder Abuse Prevention Association, every single day I get more cases and more carers and more complaints coming from not only residential care but community care. So this is not one facility, it's many across the board. And obviously, there's problems behind closed doors.
Allegations of abuse at aged care facility Lateline ABC TV February 20, 2006
Response to the rapes at George Vowel
The new aged care minister Santo Santoro now had no choice and he commenced an elaborate process of consultation and meetings with "stakeholders" from all sections promising more changes. He may have been genuine. As I understand it no attempt was made to seriously confront the critical underlying issues such as the effect of the competitive market and the drive for economic efficiency on staff morale, staffing levels, staffing skills and so on standards of care, neglect and elder abuse.
Santoro’s hands were tied. These were issues which no minister in the coalition government could credibly address.
I suspect that no one challenged him on this. Submissions and ministerial meetings are the art of the possible and compromises must be made if anything is to be achieved. I discussed this with some of those who were to meet the minister.
We realised that to emphasise the critical role of market forces and government policy would compromise their credibility and be counterproductive. Instead they concentrated on better oversight, mandatory reporting and other measures of control - patching the leaking bucket instead of replacing it. I even put my name to a submission.
This is of course not a sensible way to deal with the problems. The USA has done the same thing on multiple occasions and continues to do so. It has simply provided a temporary respite before the next scandal occurred.
Some in the USA are beginning to challenge the market solution. There is little prospect for real change while the marketplace maintains its current credibility and while John Howard and George Bush drive local and international marketplace policies. We are likely to go through many cycles of bucket patching and serious leaks before there is enough public angst and insight to challenge ideology and try another more sensible path.
SENATOR SANTO SANTORO, MINISTER FOR THE AGEING: Look, I feel tremendously for the granddaughters. I watched the program last night and I've watched further interviews and there clearly is anguish, there clearly is shock, there clearly is a crying out to the ministers like myself and Gavin down in Victoria for us to do something to improve the system. I'm here to tell you and I'm here to tell your viewers that we are going to work together, we are going to go about improving the system so we can eliminate as much as is possible the sort of abuses that we have heard over the last day or so.
Feb 2006 Santoro makes promises
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Out of this experience we are going to learn how to improve a system, Tony, which I think is working well, but clearly it needs to be fine tuned, it needs to be certainly better performing and I'm prepared to put every bit of energy that's available to me to make sure that it works better.
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I intend to consult stakeholders and my ministerial colleagues interstate. I intend to be very proactive, very open and I'm inviting anybody who has any issue with the department, with the complaints resolution scheme to come directly to my office, and I'm saying to my office, not necessarily the Department, although I want the Department to be fully involved because we need to learn from this experience.
Aged care debate LATELINE ABC TV February 21, 2006
Putting a fence around the George Vowel rape
Both Santoro and John Howard were soon in damage control expressing shock and trying to quarantine what had happened as an aberrant isolated event rather than as a clear pointer to pervasive and deep seated problems in the nursing home sector - a consequence of government policy and years of neglect. As information about more cases of sexual and other elder abuse was exposed they tried unsuccessfully to minimise the extent of the problems.
SENATOR SANTO SANTORO, MINISTER FOR AGEING: We are acting as swiftly as we can in terms of this isolated case of abuse.
Feb 2006 Calling it isolated
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DANA ROBERTSON: Santo Santoro is confident the current reporting mechanisms are working well, although he is seeking to improve them. He says last year there were 6,000 complaints about aged care and only 1 per cent related to abuse. While John Howard's expressed his horror about the revelations at the Melbourne nursing home, he's been quick to reassure the families of other elderly people in residential care.JOHN HOWARD: I don't think, of course, it would be fair to extrapolate from this incident, if it did take place, a general view about nursing homes in Australia.
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DR MERRILYN WALTON, UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY: These complaints, certainly in my 20 years experience of looking at complaints about nursing homes, have been repetitive and it doesn't seem to me that we make the improvements, so I don't think it's a one-off thing, no.DANA ROBERTSON: She says it seems in the last 10 years little has changed.
Politicians respond to abuse allegations LATELINE ABC TV February 21, 2006
But Mr Howard says the majority of elderly Australians are well cared for in the nation's aged care facilities.
Feb 2006 Reassuring public - Howard
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"I think it's important that people who have relatives in nursing homes in Australia be reassured that ... 99.9 per cent of them are operated in a caring, sensitive way and people are properly looked after."
Nursing home rape allegations appalling and tragic: ABC radio PM February 21, 2006
"But I just wish to assure the Australian public ... that the vast majority of residents receive the best possible care by people who are caring, dedicated to looking after the welfare of our elderly in nursing homes.
Feb 2006 Reassuring public - Santo Santoro
"The vast majority of providers provide excellent, excellent care for nursing home residents."
Elderly people in nursing homes safe, Santoro Australian Associated Press General News February 21, 2006
But Mr Howard and his new Aged Care Minister, Santo Santoro, insisted that the overwhelming majority of homes were free of abuse - despite a damning Senate report last June that criticised the complaints scheme for discouraging complainants.
Feb 2006 Conflicting views
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HSU state secretary Jeff Jackson said bullying, intimidation and abuse of aged care workers meant that carers were often terrified of reporting.
New laws loom on nursing home rape The Age February 22, 2006
The nursing home community were a little slower in coming forward to put a fence around what had happened. Compare this with what was actually happening to the accreditation agency and the complaints mechanism.
Despite the troubled past of the aged care sector, and the recent instances, Greg Mundey from Aged and Community Services Australia says Australians should have confidence in the system.
Feb 2006 Market urges public to have confidence
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"There is a very elaborate system of quality control and complaints handling that applies to aged care because we know that our clients are frail, they are vulnerable."New Minister for the Ageing, Santo Santoro, also insists the alleged sexual abuse is an isolated incident - an exception in an otherwise reformed aged care sector.
Nursing home allegations rock aged care in Australia Australian Associated Press General News February 24, 2006
Critics challenge this position
The self-serving political and market dishonesty, and the attempt to hide the fact that the rapes were simply the symptoms of a deeply pervasive flaw in the aged care system were confronted by some of the critics. The ongoing saga over the preceding 6 years made the minimisation position untenable for those who had studied the system. A forceful advocate, Lillian Jeter, took this head on. Other critics supported her and drew attention to community apathy and to the important role of competitive commercial pressures in all this. There were more and more reports.
Executive director Lillian Jeter, a former US police officer who has been investigating abuse against the elderly for more than 20 years, says neglect, exploitation and sexual, physical and psychological abuse are commonplace in Australian nursing homes.
Feb 2006 Lillian Jetter speaks out
"It's deeply unsettling but it does happen, it happens all the time," Ms Jeter told AAP.
"It's horrific, families pay these facilities good money to ensure the health and safety and well-being of their loved ones."
She says many of the facilities, increasingly privately-run, are staggeringly understaffed, and many of the staff they do have are non-professional, low-paid immigrant workers.
"The biggest money gets poured into their foyers, on chandeliers and nice carpet to impress the families that might want to bring their loved ones in," she said.
"The attitude seems to be the residents are dying anyway, why should we spend money on them?"
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"People are compassionate when it's brought to their attention but for the most part it's out of sight, out of mind," Prof Russell (age researcher) said.She believes Australia's "extremely unhealthy preoccupation" with youth has lead to widespread ageism.
There is a more meaningful debate in Australia about Botox than there is about the realities of ageing and the lives of the elderly, she said.
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Private nursing home operators are generally only interested in making a profit, and treatment will not get better until regulations tighten, Prof Russell says."But if really top quality care was mandated I really don't think it would be profitable anymore, and all the stakeholders want to keep the business profitable, and the government does not want to have to provide subsidies," she said.
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"And the provision of community services often amounts to no more than a few hours a week and if you don't have a family available it's not adequate for a decent quality of life."Ms Jeter does not have very high expectations for the federal government's aged-care summit.
"It's not going to be good enough to sit around a table in Canberra and talk. We have got to put things in place and start filling the gaps. Now. People are suffering here," she said.
"We should honour, and respect and revere our elderly people, put them on a pedestal. The way we treat them is shameful, and I think it's a very bad reflection on us."
Recent events highlight shameful neglect of Australia's elderly Australian Associated Press General News February 24, 2006
The hospital estimates that at least 80 elderly women would have been treated for sexual assault in Sydney during the past 10 years, and that more than 450 others could have been attacked but did not report the attacks.
Feb 2006 True incidence of sexual abuse of elderly
Ms Kelly (Lauren Kelly, acting coordinator of RNSH's sexual assault service) said many aged care staff were hired through specialist employment agencies, meaning that if there were concerns about them being involved in a sexual assault they would often leave their job and move to another facility.
If staff had to undergo security checks, the risk of elderly women being assaulted could be reduced, she said.
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"We have a (sexual assault) case or two in our area where we can tell the same worker is working in the same area but moving around but it's really difficult to do anything.Ms Kelly said the problem of sexual assaults in nursing homes was compounded by the fact that many of the women victims were reluctant or unable to report the attacks.
Some had dementia, others Alzheimer's disease while many were just too embarrassed and ashamed to report the attacks to police.
Govts urged to make aged care workers have security checks Australian Associated Press General News February 24, 2006
VICTORIA is the worst state when it comes to looking after its elderly citizens, making up almost half the official sanctions on nursing homes, and a third of all complaints.
Feb 2006 Things are bad in homes and Victoria is the worst
The state is consistently at the bottom of the list for aged care. Despite having fewer beds than Queensland and NSW, Victoria has proportionately higher complaints of neglect, mistreatment and substandard service of its elderly.
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The Herald Sun has been contacted by dozens of families concerned about the welfare of their parents and grandparents, with some resorting to:MARKING bed linen in pencil with a date, to see how often the sheets are changed. One woman reported her 98-year-old mother's sheets weren't changed for a month.
BRINGING fresh fruit to loved ones, because of concern they are malnourished.
SUPPLYING incontinence pads in bulk because some homes only provide two a day for residents, leaving them to "hold on" for hours.
LABELLING clothes and personal items to prevent expensive goods vanishing and turning up being worn by other residents.
KEEPING diaries of incidents and discussions with nursing home staff as potential evidence.
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Since sanctions were introduced, 44 Victorian nursing homes have been penalised with the loss of government funding, and an enforced timetable to improve services -- more than double the next highest, in Queensland, and more than triple NSW.
Aged care in a sorry state Shame of our nursing homes Herald-Sun February 27, 2006
ONE in 25 elderly people is abused by a carer, with wheelchair users over 75 and people with dementia most at risk.
Mar 2006 Elder abuse in one in 25
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Elder abuse expert and author Gerry Naughtin said "gerophilia" accounts for more than 90,000 cases of abuse in NSW, Victoria and SA each year.Mr Naughtin's figure included sexual, physical, financial and psychological abuse.
Elderly abuse set to rise Herald-Sun March 6, 2006
The federal government may investigate the alleged abuse of an 83-year-old woman after a pornographic image of her was circulated in an email calendar.
Mar 2006 More sexual abuse in Queensland
Federal Aged Care Minister Santo Santoro today described it as an "horrific" example of elder abuse.
The woman died nine years ago and had been in the care of a southern Queensland aged care centre and a hospital.
The woman's daughter June Small said she was horrified when she saw her naked mother in the graphic email and the image of a young man kneeling beside her.
Investigations into pornographic image of 83-year-old woman Australian Associated Press General News March 6, 2006
SIXTY-THREE residents of Victorian nursing homes - more than one person a week - died from unnatural causes in 2004, an Age investigation has found.
Apr 2006 Unnatural deaths in nursing homes
But this figure may be a significant underestimate, with one expert suggesting such deaths are under-reported and that a proper process is needed to record and investigate them effectively.
Homes hold deadly secrets The Age April 15, 2006
FORMER police officer Lilian Jeter has been exposed to some of the worst examples of inhumanity and depravity. She sees the abuse, neglect and exploitation of older people as a shameful indictment on Australia society and a failure of officialdom to protect its most vulnerable citizens.
Apr 2006 Jetter insists it is widespread
People - who built the community, raised its children and fought for their country - are suffering everyday behind closed doors in nursing homes and the community, she says. ''I've seen an older vulnerable person who was first victimised in the community. They went to hospital and were abused. They went into residential care and were abused. This is the same individual,'' Jeter, who is director of the Elder Abuse Prevention Association, says.
Jeter is a 21-year veteran in the fight to stamp out elder abuse - first as a police officer in the United States and now as an advocate in Australia.
Failing to protect our elders Canberra Times April 15, 2006
The extent to which the culture in nursing homes and the sort of person working in them has changed in the 10 years since the government started its policy of marketisation is revealed in a comment by the minister himself. No amount of mandatory reporting, police checks and spot checks is going to change that.
Senator Santoro said he had been shocked to hear in a recent briefing that in one home subject to allegations of sexual abuse the manager "stated that she did not believe it was her job to report allegations of sexual abuse".
Mar 2006 Not manager's job to report sexual abuse
He said it took one month for the abuse to be reported to police.
Senator Santoro refused to give details about the home, but said "remedial action" had been taken and the manager was no longer in the job.
Reporting sex abuse not part of my job: aged-care manager The Sydney Morning Herald March 16, 2006
To confront the self serving nonsense by the government, Lateline documented another two rape and sexual abuse allegations a few days later. One in Victoria and another in Queensland. We can only guess at the real frequency in a situation where nursing home owners, the complaints division, the accreditation agency and their political masters would all be acutely embarrassed by revelations that such practices were common under their brief. We now know that all these parties will rationalise and misinform when they can get away with it. They will not go looking for more trouble.
MARGOT O'NEILL: The alleged rape of elderly women revealed by Lateline in a Melbourne nursing home last week was described at the time as an isolated incident by the Aged Care Minister, Santo Santoro.
Feb 2006 Another not so isolated rape
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But Lateline has confirmed that the Victorian police are investigating new rape allegations against a male carer at another Melbourne aged care facility - allegations first made nine months before police were alerted. The initial allegation came from a 73-year-old woman with dementia in March last year, but instead of immediately contacting her family or the police, Lateline's been told the facility's manager questioned the woman and dismissed her claim. Then late last year, another female resident also made sexual assault claims and the police were finally called. The number of alleged victims in this case is unclear, but Lateline's been told that the facility's file notes suggest a pattern of disturbing behavioural changes in some elderly women after a particular male carer had been in contact with them. There are also new allegations about sexual abuse by a male assistant nurse at a Sunshine Coast nursing home.SENATOR SANTO SANTORO: I am aware of allegations of inappropriate handling of residents by an assistant at the Immanuel Gardens Nursing Home. The matter as Senator McLucas may not be aware - but I'm making her aware of it now - is in the hands of the Maroochy Criminal Investigation Branch of the Queensland Police.
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MARGOT O'NEILL: This incident took place at the Millward residential care facility in Doncaster East. Rather than contacting her family or the police, Millward's nursing director forced Catherine's mother, who suffers from a brain injury, to repeat her allegation in front of the male carer she alleged assaulted her.MARILYN BREWWIN, MOTHER: I had to stand up in front of him and he denied it completely, he denied it in front of me and the nurse, the director of nursing in Melbourne said she didn't believe me. It's terrible, it's shocking because I'm not a liar, I'm not a liar at all.
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MARGOT O'NEILL: It was six weeks before Catherine found out about her mother's claim. There'd been no medical examination and no contact with the police.
More abuse allegations LATELINE ABC TV February 27, 2006
JEFF JACKSON, HEALTH SERVICES UNION: All the incidents that are occurring in aged care are not being reported at the moment because the Howard Government hasn't been brave enough to introduce legislation that would encourage and then also protect those who come forward.
Feb 2006 All instances not reported
MAURA ANGLE: The union says police checks for aged care workers should be introduced along with mandatory reporting of cases of abuse and mistreatment. The Elder Abuse Prevention Association says urgent action is needed.
Govt calls for action on elderly abuse claims Lateline ABC TV February 28, 2006
Police are investigating claims that nursing home residents at a second Victorian facility have been raped by a carer.
Feb 2006 The second Victorian home where rapes occurred
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The number of alleged victims is unclear.However, - - - has been told that the facility's file notes suggest a pattern of disturbing behavioural changes in some elderly women after a particular male carer had been in contact with them.
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The cases have prompted concern about how quickly some nursing homes contact residents' families and the police.
New rape claims add to aged care woes Delays: The cases have raised concerns about the way rape claims are handled. Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) News February 26, 2006
The Federal Government has revealed Queensland police are investigating more claims of patient abuse in a nursing home.
Feb 2006 Queensland police investigating too
Aged Care Minister Santo Santoro says a former worker at the Immanuel Gardens Nursing Home on the Sunshine Coast was sacked after the allegations surfaced.
Police investigate new nursing home abuse claims Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) News February 27, 2006
EMBATTLED Federal Ageing Minister Santo Santoro has been forced to defend why it took seven months to impose sanctions on a Sunshine Coast nursing home for failing to properly care for residents.
Feb 2006 It is a home with a history of problems
An inspection of the Immanuel Gardens nursing home at Buderim last August found the facility failed to comply with 15 of 44 care standards, including clinical care, infection control and pain management.
Federal Parliament was told yesterday that formal action was not taken against the facility until February 6.
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The same nursing home is already being investigated by Sunshine Coast police over allegations that several elderly residents were "inappropriately" touched by a former employee.
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"On 6 February 2006, the department imposed a sanction on the Lutheran Church of Australia Queensland District, the approved provider of the Immanuel Gardens Nursing Home.
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Senator McLucas said the report showed the facility had persistently failed to comply with accreditation standards over the past three years.
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This follows concerns that wounds and dressings of residents were not "consistently assessed" or attended to.An audit team also found there was no effective infection control program in place, with pans and urinals sitting on benches and sinks.
Santoro on back foot again over aged care The Courier-Mail February 28, 2006
A 51-year-old man will face Maroochydore Magistrates Court on the Sunshine Coast on April 26, charged with six counts of indecent assault of an intellectually impaired person.
Mar 2006 Queensland man charged
Police claim the Mooloolaba man interfered with three of the village's elderly residents, aged 92, 87 and 85 years.
The offences allegedly occurred in 2004 and 2005 at the Immanuel Garden Retirement Village at Buderim, where the man was employed as a nurses' assistant.
Alleged abuse at retirement home sparks protocol review Australian Associated Press General News March 9, 2006
More and more allegations of elder abuse and rape were reported in the press. Within the first few months of 2006 four homes were implicated. These events occur in nursing homes where the caring culture has been destroyed and where there are already serious problems so that sexual abuse is easier. These are the homes that use agency staff. Deviant individuals who would not fit into a functioning community of carers are readily taken on by the agency which makes money from them. An agency job gives a predator greater opportunities.
And just this weekend, fresh sexual abuse allegations surfaced in Canberra.
Mar 2006 And more sexual abuse/rapes in Canberra
It has been revealed that a male nurse has been charged with the rape of a 72-year-old woman at Ginninderra Gardens Nursing Home and Hostel.
The 26-year-old was arrested in January and will face court next month.
The shocking allegations have prompted fresh calls for mandatory reporting of assaults against the elderly.
Minister for Ageing Santo Santoro says he is willing to consider any measures that will help stamp out elderly abuse.
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"While they are isolated cases, they are a blight on the industry and must be stamped out."
Police checks and mandatory reporting to be focus of summit Australian Associated Press General News March 13, 2006
POLICE are investigating another case of alleged abuse of a resident by a staff member of a Queensland nursing home.
May 2006 And another one in Queensland
Ageing Minister Santo Santoro confirmed the investigation yesterday but refused to reveal the nursing home.
Elderly abuse crackdown widens The Courier-Mail May 29, 2006\
It is tempting to vilify politicians, the complaints department and the agency but this would be counterproductive. These are people who were once well motivated but who are trapped in a system and a pattern of beliefs which puts them in an impossible position. The social forces and the pressures in the system are simply too strong. Apathy sets in as their mission becomes impossible.
They are responding as humans do. The system selects for those who are prepared to do what it takes to survive in that context and then rationalise their actions. The complaints department was not permitted to investigate a complaint to see it was valid and then take action. They were required to "mediate" between complainant and the nursing home without knowing what actually happened.
"I believe that the department that I'm overseeing is made up of well-meaning and competent people who do their best to service a part of our community which requires proper and constant care," Senator Santoro said.
Feb 2006 Even Santoro agrees and is not shifting the blame
Nursing home rape allegation probe ends AAP Bulletins February 27, 2006
Advocates who had been powerless against government indifference suddenly found themselves with something they could take to the public - and enough leverage to drive a reform process. A senate inquiry in 2005 had recommended major changes including many of those advocates wanted. The government had simply ignored it.
Leading the charge was an American Lillian Jeter who had extensive experience in the USA where the only effective measures had been punitive. Ted Quinlan a long time critic from Western Australia also took the opportunity. The Aged Care Crisis Centre established by Lynda Saltarelli and others had been collecting information and posting it on their web site. They sent out a regular email newsletter.
Advocates pressed strongly for real regulatory changes, effective screening of employees, regular oversight, mandatory reporting, proper investigation, protection of whistle blowers, and effective criminal processes. The nursing unions and the Australian Medical Association were also pushing strongly for changes.
"We're talking about criminal type cases or borderline criminal cases," said Ms Jeter, who used to specialise in elder abuse in her position as a police commander in the US state of South Carolina.
Feb 2006 Residents will not complain - need more than that
"For mistreatment, abuse and neglect, we need people to actually go in and investigate the facilities immediately.
"The victims aren't going to report the abuse - the same hand that feeds them is the same hand that's abusing, neglecting or intimidating them."
Nursing home allegations rock aged care in Australia Australian Associated Press General News February 24, 2006
A veteran WA campaigner against the "profit-motivated" sector of the aged-care nursing home industry wants a Bill of rights introduced to protect the residents of such facilities around the nation.
May 2006 Ted Quinlan wants a bill of rights and criminal prosecutions
Ted Quinlan, 88, founder and acting secretary of Concerned Citizens for the Frail Aged, said yesterday the mere use of regulations to penalise operators failing in their duty of care was an insufficient deterrent.
"We have laws against the neglect and abuse of animals and children so why not have the laws to protect vulnerable, elderly people?" he said. "We need to enshrine the basic rights of nursing home residents and provide criminal sanctions to force the bad operators to face up to their responsibilities.
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He said that if the Aged Care Standards and Accreditation Agency could not launch criminal prosecutions, a Federal guardianship board should be established with power to do so.
Bill of rights needed to stop aged care 'profiteers' The West Australian May 1, 2006
There was so much pressure generated that the government buckled to the needs of the community. The minister made a show of calling a summit of those involved in aged care. Conspicuous was the absence of those who had been criticising the system. Instead it comprised mostly the ministers "stakeholders" - the foxes meeting to confront mobilisation of the hens.
The minister made much of listening to everyone and of his consultation with state ministers. The minister did make an effort to consult with the critics. They were interviewed separately where their different views could be isolated and dealt with and they could not challenge the stakeholders and rock the boat.
Santoro’s control and handling of the situation contrasts sharply with Bronwyn Bishop’s panic stricken and inept behaviour in 2000. In fairness to Bishop, by 2006 both the government and the market were no longer able to resist the pressure and had to accept changes. Bishop was captive to both and had no room to move. Six years of recurrent scandals had some impact.
Even though the market tried to remonstrate on some issues, particularly mandatory reporting they were forced to express support or lose all credibility. What was advocated and partly accepted did no more than plug the holes in the rusty bucket more securely. Tighter regulation has done little to change the corroded bucket by establishing a new system congruent with the service. Santoro was soon talking about choice and market and once again subsidising the market system and facilitating the move to corporatisation.
Jeter, Quinlan and Saltarelli’s remarks suggest that they were well aware of the underlying problems including the commercial forces at work. They were pressing for what was possible. Hopefully they will maintain their drive and momentum to direct attention at the causes of the problem and the need to change the whole system.
A senate committee investigation into nursing home care had reported in June 2005. It was critical of what was happened in nursing homes and recommended many of the changes wanted by advocates. Then minister for aging Julie Bishop ignored it. The government had earlier commissioned an economist, Warren Hogan, to produce the sort of report they wanted.
A Senate inquiry last year recommended random checks and new laws to protect whistleblowers. In Melbourne, a staff member is said to have witnessed one alleged assault but took two months to report it. That's prompted calls for the Government to make reporting mandatory, as it is for child abuse.
Feb 2006 Calls for mandatory reporting
AGED CARE RAPE ALLEGATIONS SBS 6.30pm TV World News Transcripts February 21, 2006
The Federal Government did not need the allegations of rape at a Victorian nursing home to alert it to the sorry - and potentially dangerous - state of aged care. Last year's report of the Senate committee inquiry into "quality and equity in aged care" has been on Canberra desks since June, and makes worrying reading. The newly appointed Minister for Ageing, Santo Santoro, has promised to respond "expeditiously" - a shameful admission of past inaction by the Government.
Feb 2006 Government have been told over and over but did nothing
The committee exposes chronic staff shortages and a declining ratio of qualified nurses to unlicensed personal carers in Australia's 3000 aged-care facilities. It raises serious concerns about the present regime of inspections, suggesting scheduled visits allow aged-care facilities to "tidy up" in advance, and concludes that random checks to catch them out are "grossly inadequate".
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There are, too, many committed nurses and carers, though less than 20 per cent feel they have enough time to do their job properly. What's going wrong? In 2002, the same Senate committee alerted the Federal Government to an "acute shortage of nurses" threatening the quality of aged care.Since the mid-1990s, staff numbers have declined and the number of people being cared for has increased. At the same time, many qualified nurses have been replaced by unlicensed carers, imposing more stress on the shrinking professional nursing pool. There are also glaring salary disparities, making staff difficult to find and retain; public hospitals pay nurses about 20 per cent more.
Nursing home warnings ignored The Sydney Morning Herald February 23, 2006
Strong pressure came from multiple groups across Australia. Opinion was unanimous on most issues.
- - - the case has prompted calls for the introduction of mandatory reporting of abuse, as Alison Caldwell reports.
Feb 2006 Mandatory reporting
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ALISON CALDWELL: The Australian Medical Association has added its voice to the calls for mandatory reporting of abuse in aged care facilities.
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He (National Secretary for the Health Services Union) says there's no reason why mandatory reporting of abuse should not be adopted by the Federal Government when it comes to nursing homes.
Govt to hold summit to discuss abuse of the elderly Australian Associated Press General News February 21, 2006
The kerosene baths scandal at a Melbourne nursing home in 2000 shocked Australia.
Feb 2006 Minister in demnial
Six years on and the horror stories keep coming.
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Minister for Ageing Santo Santoro today said abuse in nursing homes was comparatively rare.But history tells a different story.
The sad tales of neglect persist in some aged care homes Australian Associated Press General News February 21, 2006
Measures now being advocated include mandatory reporting of abuse and compulsory criminal checks on prospective nursing home employees.
Feb 2006 Calling for reform
Also advocated are random, unannounced checks on nursing homes.
Such requirements, apply to the care and protection of children. Why not the aged?
Protecting the elderly Herald Sun EDITORIAL February 23, 2006
Governments across Australia are being urged to make people working in the aged care sector undergo rigorous security checks to help protect elderly women from sexual assault.
Feb 2006 security checks
Govts urged to make aged care workers have security checks Australian Associated Press General News February 24, 2006
Mandatory reporting accounts for some 75 per cent of the almost 220,000 alerts about children that DOCS receives each year. Of course, the rules will have to be different for the old. They are not children, and their rights as adults must be respected. There will be problems, too, in defining just what should be reported - for example, should the rules embrace emotional as well as physical abuse, and what if the abuse is coming from other patients or a patient's family? However, difficulties in framing reporting requirements are no reason to simply shelve the whole idea.
Mar 2006 Using children as an example
Mr Santoro says it is rare to have serious incidents like the rapes and other sexual assaults that have prompted the current concern. But how does he know?
Last year, a Senate committee said the staff of aged care facilities - and the families of residents - were sometimes too frightened to speak out for fear of retribution. The committee's report called for an investigation of threats and intimidation of staff, residents and families who complain about inadequate care.
Indeed, the committee demanded whistleblower legislation to protect those who make complaints. Making it mandatory to report abuse in aged care facilities would help arm staff and families against attempts at intimidation and threats of reprisals.
Our duty to those in aged care The Sydney Morning Herald March 16, 2006
The complaints system set up by the government is 1997/8 was designed to be corporate friendly. The responsible body was required to mediate complaints with the nursing homes but could not investigate them or take action to penalise offenders. It had no teeth. The consequences of this were only too apparent in the Riverside scandal but nothing was done about it. This emphasis on mediation rather than investigation had some bizarre consequences.
Santoro promised radical changes to the complaints system but there was no mention of it in the budget and Santoro made no further comment. Could it be that he has traded this with the industry in return for accepting mandatory reporting? Time will tell.
Catherine Gladman says her mother, Marilyn Brewwin, made claims of sexual abuse two years ago at the Millward residential care facility in Melbourne.
Feb 2006 Residents and family intimidated
The police were not called and Ms Brewwin's family was not contacted.
Instead, Millward's nursing director forced Ms Brewwin, who suffers from a brain injury, to repeat her allegation in front of the male carer she alleged assaulted her.
"I had to stand up in front of him and he denied it completely, he denied it in front of me and the nurse, the director of nursing in Melbourne said she didn't believe me," Ms Brewwin said.
"It's terrible, it's shocking because I'm not a liar, I'm not a liar at all."
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"They were pretty cheesed off that we'd found out and then tried to say, 'Well, we've dealt with it. It's not an issue, you shouldn't be involving the police'."Ms Gladman called in the police but charges were not laid.
Last year, the Nurses Board of Victoria reprimanded Millward's then nursing director for "unprofessional conduct of a serious nature" after finding she had "failed to investigate this allegation appropriately".
New rape claims add to aged care woes Delays: The cases have raised concerns about the way rape claims are handled. Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) News February 26, 2006
'The call for elevating the powers of investigation beyond mediation and conciliation and including a complaints commissioner is a positive initiative and is supported.
Mar 2006 Changing complaints mechanism
'The aged care sector needs an independent and strengthened complaints resolution body including an aged care commissioner covering human rights,' says Ms Iliffe.
Cautious welcome to Government aged care reforms Media Release: Australian Nursing Federation March 30, 2006
SWEEPING powers to investigate allegations of abuse and inadequate care in nursing homes will be given to a federal body under measures to combat the abuse of elderly people.
Mar 2006 New powers
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Senator Santoro said the current complaints resolution scheme for nursing homes, which is based on mediation, was inadequate."For example (the scheme) has no investigatory powers. It's more about . . . mediation and conciliation and I have always had difficulty accepting that," he said. "I just see difficulty in reconciling the attitude of, say, a rapist, with the attitude of the victim. I think there needs to be a different system that deals with the issue of rape and assault than one that focuses on reconciliation and mediation."
Action on abuse of aged The Age March 30, 2006
A new complaints resolution body with investigative powers, which federal Ageing Minister Santo Santoro has flagged as a key plank in the Government's war on abuse in nursing homes, was not mentioned in the budget.
May 2006 Complaints system reform not in budget
Seniors to cash in on the good times The Age May 10, 2006
Whistle blowers are abused, victimised and fired in almost all situations but nurse whistleblowers in health and aged care seem to be particularly vulnerable. Most of the nurses who have spoken out about aged care have been fired and in a small workforce it is not easy to remain incognito. If their complaint is acted on and the home closed they lose their job anyway - as happened at Riverside.
The government in Australia has been particularly tardy in protecting whistle blowers and scuttled a move by other parties to protect nurse whistle blowers.
As Health Services Union official Jeff Jackson pointed out, carers often are deterred from coming forward for fear of losing their jobs or being bullied. He has called for tighter regulation, including random audits, of aged care homes, which currently have several weeks' warning of inspections. Private nursing homes, in particular, have a potential conflict between their commercial interests and their duty of care to residents.
Feb 2006 Why few blow the whistle
Mandatory reporting is not a solution to protecting the elderly The Age February 22, 2006
Two recommendations stand out. The (June 2005 senate) committee wants whistleblower legislation to protect residents, relatives and staff who expose inadequate standards of care. It also wants an investigation of "intimidation and retribution" directed at residents or relatives who complain. How has such a culture of fear come to pervade a system in which we must place our trust?
Feb 2006 The 2005 senate report and a culture of fear
Families and friends have no choice but to rely heavily on the managers and staff of institutions to whom they entrust elderly relatives. They should be able to feel confident: the industry is regulated and complaints procedures are in place.
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The Victorian case has prompted calls for mandatory reporting of abuse: the whistleblower kept the horror to herself for two months. Mandatory reporting would make it an offence to withhold such information. But mandatory reporting can also attract scurrilous allegations and personal vendettas - as it has in child abuse. And it is merely a Band-Aid unless the industry's deeper problems are addressed.
Nursing home warnings ignored The Sydney Morning Herald February 23, 2006
THE Federal Government has blocked moves by opposition parties aimed at providing more protection for whistleblowers working in nursing homes.
Apr 2006 Move to protect whistleblowers blocked
The Australian Democrats attempted to amend a non-controversial aged-care law to provide employment guarantees to whistleblowers.
Abuse debate spirals The Advertiser April 7, 2006
The minister made much of an age care summit but included only those from the market and some establishment stakeholders who were less likely to rock the boat.
The Federal Government has called an emergency summit, thus repeating what has been its typically reactive response to past reports of nursing home abuse.
Feb 2006 Lessons not learned : More than fine tuning needed
But it is reasonable to ask what happened to the lessons that should have been learned six years ago when the Herald Sun revealed that 57 elderly patients were given kerosene baths to treat skin conditions in another nursing home?
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There has since been a litany of complaints about nursing homes -- some branded as fire traps, some as places where frail inmates were assaulted, and others where medication mix-ups happened.
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He (Santoro) pledges to learn "how to improve a system which I think is working well, but clearly it needs to be fine-tuned".Come on Minister. More than fine-tuning is need to rectify the grievous shortcomings revealed in this latest case.
Protecting the elderly Herald Sun EDITORIAL February 23, 2006
Federal Minister for Ageing Santo Santoro has organised a meeting of aged care industry staff and residents, to be held in Canberra tomorrow, to consider options to prevent abuse in aged care homes.
Feb 2006 The foxes to meet!
Plan to tackle abuse in aged care The Age February 27, 2006
The members of the Advisory Committee (attendance list attached) expressed general support for the following initiatives:
Mar 2006 Come up with some superficial patches patches to system
* A uniform system of police checks for workers in the aged care industry;
* An increase in unannounced spot checks for aged care facilities;
* A review of the current Complaints Resolution Scheme;
* And enhanced training for all aged care staff in relation to knowledge and awareness of abuse of the elderly and how to deal with complaints.
"On the issue of mandatory reporting, the membership of the committee was significantly divided. Some members of the committee requested additional research and information in relation to the effectiveness of mandatory reporting schemes in overseas jurisdictions."
Santoro To Go To Cabinet With Aged Care Reform Proposals Media Release: Minister for Ageing March 14, 2006
While advocacy groups were not included in the summit, Senator Santoro said he had received written submissions from them that would be considered.
Mar 2006 Advocacy groups who have all the coalface knowledge excluded
"I spoke to the advocacy groups I've got detailed submissions from them ... and there opinions will certainly be included in any deliberations," he said.
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"One of the positives aspects and outcomes of today's meeting was broad industry support for what could be termed an unannounced random inspections and spot checks," he said.
Santoro says speaking to victim made him more determined Australian Associated Press General News March 14, 2006
Senator Santoro said experts from his Aged Care Advisory Committee - largely comprising aged-care providers - were split on the issue of forcing people to report cases of suspected abuse.
Mar 2006 Split on mandatory reporting - delay in acting on senate 2005 findings
"There were people ... that were strongly in favour of a mandatory reporting system ... and there were people violently opposed to it," Senator Santoro said.
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Labor said most of the proposals agreed upon at the summit were recommendations from a Senate inquiry into aged care last year, which the government had failed to respond.
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"It is now over nine months since the government received those recommendations and it is unacceptable to say that it has taken these recent horrific events to spur the government into action."
Cabinet to consider plan to stamp out elderly abuse Australian Associated Press General News March 14, 2006
Minister for Ageing Santo Santoro said yesterday he would first consult state counterparts before going to cabinet with the plan.
Mar 2006 Consulting states
Act to protect our elderly The Advertiser March 15, 2006
The federal Minister for Ageing, Santo Santoro, promised further consultation on the issue but indicated that he personally favours compulsory reporting.
Mar 2006 Mandatory reporting gaining ground
"It is hard to argue against mandatory reporting," he told ABC television.
Govt must change 'culture of intimidation' in aged care Australian Associated Press General News March 15, 2006
MANDATORY police checks will be carried out on workers in the $3.7billion aged care sector under sweeping reforms to protect the elderly and improve nursing home standards.
Apr 2006 First changes to policing and oversight made
Forced to act after a series of sexual assaults in nursing homes, the Howard Government will also introduce "spot" checks as part of a co-ordinated effort to improve service quality in aged care facilities.
The Government is also considering beefing up the powers of a statutory scheme to investigate complaints against nursing homes. This follows concerns that the present system -- based on mediation -- is failing the elderly.
In the biggest shake-up of the sector for years, Minister for Ageing Santo Santoro will today unveil a suite of reforms designed to protect the 170,000 Australians using aged care services.
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Today's announcement represents the "first instalment" of broader changes to aged care, well-placed sources said.
Random checks on aged carers The Australian April 10, 2006
Now the new Minister for the Ageing, Santo Santoro, has finally done what his predecessors should have done years ago -- moved to end the shameful official indifference to the plight of the vulnerable.
Apr 2006 Delayed action taken
Someone cares at last Herald Sun EDITORIAL April 11, 2006
The federal government has announced funding for more than 28,000 new aged care places across Australia.
May 2006 More aged care places
Minister for Ageing Santo Santoro said $930 million would fund the new places, to be provided over three years.
Govt pledges more funding for aged care AAP Bulletins May 1, 2006
The government has moved to appease growing anger over standards in Australia's nursing homes with an extra $45 million to improve the quality of care, fund more spot checks of homes and boost the vetting of volunteers by police.
May 2006 Government responds to outcry but avoids addressing the problems
Following embarrassing stories of neglect and abuse in several nursing homes earlier this year, Minister for Ageing Santo Santoro announced increased funding to try to restore public confidence in the sector.
Spot checks for nursing homes Australian Financial Review May 10, 2006
The nursing unions pressed some of the key issues and the minister did listen but there is probably little he can do while Howard and Costello remain in control. Nurses wanted a system of professional registration to operate as a way of checking police records and other dysfunctional conduct. Professionalism challenges the self-interest on which market systems depend. It sets up a conflicting culture and in economic circles professionalism is a dirty word. They did not get what they wanted.
Short term fixes were discussed in detail but Santo Santoro, the new Minister for Ageing, seemed willing to listen to some of the longer term remedies put forward by the ANF.
Mar 2006 Nurses want long term fixes
Victoria Gilmore, ANF federal liaison officer said, 'short term fixes may help with picking up and responding to the reports of abuse but the longer term solutions will be the ones that make living in aged care facilities safer for older people.'
Aged Care Summit Creates Opportunities for Long-Term Solutions Media Release: Australian Nursing Federation March 15, 2006
But for nurses and aged-care advocates who have been calling for aged-care workers to be registered in the same way as health and child-care workers, the police checks are unlikely to be satisfactory. There will be more of these unregistered workers after the budget, with $4.7 million allocated to boost the number of volunteer visitors to government-subsidised aged care homes by 912 to 7500.
May 2006 The people at the coal face are unhappy with reforms - they were excluded
Seniors to cash in on the good times The Age May 10, 2006
One of the most contentious issues and one pressed most strongly by advocates was the need for mandatory reporting - making it a criminal offence not to report senior abuse in nursing homes. The AMA and nurses all pressed for this but there was a lot of industry disagreement, particularly at the summit. The minister hedged for a while but was eventually persuaded that his measures would not be credible without it. Eventually the industry agreed but clearly the meetings were far from amicable. There were conflicting views about what had actually been agreed. What is apparent is that the original proposals have been watered down in some way.
The peak body for the aged care industry says it supports measures to make it compulsory for nursing home staff and operators to report incidents of abuse.
Apr 2006 Not for profit's support mandatory reporting
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One of the changes is the introduction of mandatory reporting of suspected abuse cases.Pat Sparrow from Aged and Community Services Australia says the organisation has always maintained that criminal activity in nursing homes should be reported to police.
Industry welcomes aged care changes The changes to aged care include the mandatory reporting of suspected abuse cases. Aged care changes garner mixed reaction Aged care industry overhaul targets staff and volunteers Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) News April 10, 2006
NURSING home managers will be forced to report cases of abuse and assault to the police, or face losing Government funding, under a plan announced yesterday.
Apr 2006 Mechanism for mandatory reporting
Minister for Ageing Santo Santoro said workers would be required to report cases of sexual and physical assault to their managers, who were to report to police or the federal department.
Nursing home managers warned The Advertiser April 11, 2006
But proposals for "compulsory" reporting of serious sexual and physical abuse of residents - an apparently milder version of the "mandatory" measures originally proposed - have been criticised by an industry leader as confusing and unclear.
Apr 2006 Confusing and unclear
New checks designed to target aged care abuses The Sydney Morning Herald April 11, 2006
THE operators of aged care homes will be forced to report suspected abuse of residents in their care or risk sanctions such as losing their operating licence, under plans formulated at a meeting of state and federal aged care ministers yesterday.
Apr 2006 Still not clear
But it is unclear whether individual workers would be sanctioned for failing to report abuse, as several aged care advocates have demanded.
Owners to notify aged home abuse The Age April 11, 2006
MANDATORY reporting of the abuse of elderly people should be introduced in Australia as soon as possible, the founder of the Elder Abuse Prevention Association, Lillian Jeter, told a meeting in Maitland yesterday.
June 2000 Jetter gets her way
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Ms Jeter said it was vital to introduce a legal requirement to report abuse, which otherwise tended to remain undetected.There was a particular problem in some aged care facilities where a culture of fear and intimidation led to problems being unreported.
Ms Jeter said some aged care facilities were big businesses, but some owners knew nothing about aged care.
Move to protect elderly The Newcastle Herald June 15, 2006
If it is the disparity in power and the force of market motivation which renders regulation ineffective then one must ask whether these mandatory requirements will be any more effective than the code of conduct introduced after the Riverside scandal in 2000. Does enshrining something in law when the community that is subject to that law does not identify with its principles work?
Nursing home staff would have to promptly report adverse events such as falls, injuries, drug mix-ups and significant weight loss suffered by frail elderly residents under a new draft code of conduct developed for the industry.
Oct 2006 Whistle blower protection to be voluntary only
The code would also encourage nursing home staff to make complaints to health authorities if they were concerned about a home's standards. It says carers should be able to lodge complaints without the threat of retribution from owners and managers.
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On this point (intimidation of staff) the code says aged-care providers should: "Provide mechanisms that facilitate access for care recipients and employed and contracted staff, without retribution or threat of retribution, to advocacy, and complaints services, including the complaints resolution scheme.''However, the code is expected to be a voluntary, self-regulated code without the force of law.
Aged Care Industry Moves To Protect Frail The Age October 17, 2000
The problem of nursing aged and demented patients has been an ongoing one. Andrew Turner’s appalling assertion that you did not need trained people or nurses in nursing homes to bath, feed, walk, dish out pills, and manage incontinence has had dreadful consequences in the USA and Australia.
As in the USA , the business community, politicians, Bronwyn Bishop and John Howard had all swallowed this nonsense at enormous cost to the nursing home community. The requirement for minimum staff levels had been removed and the decisions left to the market.
Nurses and advocates had been stressing the consequences ever since but they were seen as self interested and self serving entities. More reports were now appearing which revealed that staffing and preventable deaths were closely related.
Pressure for some sort of professional body had been rejected by the government even thou