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Tip of the iceberg? The neglect and abuse seen in residential care is simply the most visible part of a larger problem
The Royal Commission into Aged Care needs to go beyond the urgent problems of residential aged care to look at the full formal system of care and support. We need to ensure we can increase staffing levels in residential care and ensure a high quality of care is available to all who need it.
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Michael makes some excellent & very relevant points. Great to see he is still around – I used to work with him years ago!!
After 40+ years of managing aged care facilities from 40 bed units to over 600 beds as CEO / Director of Nursing, I firmly believe many of the issues relate to the skills & efficiency of staff – 75% of staff now are unskilled even though the levels of need & complexity of, given the assessment process, is now very high.
Managers are not actually supervising & ENSURING that care is being delivered – instead, everything these days depends on the staff ‘tick sheets’ – i.e. if the sheet is ticked then it happened …..
Good & effective supervision is not ‘rocket science’ – it just needs those in charge to walk around the facility a few times every day & actually CHECK as to whether care is being delivered & that staff behavior is professional & skilled!! Onsite training meetings are also important so that all care staff know their responsibilities & work together in the interest of each individual resident.
As Michael says, unfortunately our aged care system has deteriorated from world-class to much worse due to increased complexity & failure to recognize the simple solutions !!!!