In the wake of the aged care royal commission and a perceived skills shortage in the sector, the University of Wollongong, in partnership with the Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute, has released the Gerontological Nursing Competencies (GNCs) framework. The framework ...

This issue of psychotropics has been front and centre during the Royal Commission, but not much time has been devoted to the reason behind its use, mental illness. Approximately half of all aged care residents exhibit symptoms consistent with depression, ...

The government celebrated a $7.1 billion surplus in its pre-election budget but nurses were less than cheery. While the Australian College of Nursing (ACN) said promises to work on a national youth mental health strategy and assurances for aged care ...

More than 300 people attended the Aged Care Royal Commission’s community forum at the sprawling Bankstown Sports Club in Sydney on Friday 1 March. Commissioner Lynelle Briggs attended the event, which she said was the first of its kind held for any ...

Some people would rather die than go into residential aged care facilities. This is according to UnitingCare Australia’s Claerwen Little, who told the commission about the findings from Uniting’s research into community perceptions of aged care. They found, among other ...

Profit must not come first in aged care. That’s what the Australian College of Nursing’s (ACN) message to the Senate Community Affairs References Committee boiled down to. Adjunct Professor Kylie Ward provided evidence to the committee’s inquiry on ‘Effectiveness of ...

Properly staffing aged care facilities with an adequate nursing skill mix and at least four hours and 18 minutes per-patient per-day care minimum would not cost the sector anything more than it currently outlays. That’s according to a report presented ...

“I’m sure if I had taken Bob to the Royal Adelaide Hospital in the state he was in, I would have been reported to the police." That's how Oakden whistleblower Barbara Spriggs recounted the injuries her late husband sustained at the ...

Alternating air pressure mattresses (APAMs), not two-hourly repositioning, is the key to preventing bed sores. What’s more, the constant mandated repositioning of residents in aged care could be a form of unintentional abuse and ultimately unlawful. This is according to ...

“The hallmark of a civilised society is how it treats its most vulnerable people and our elderly are often amongst our most physically, emotionally and financially vulnerable.” These were some of the final words from commissioner Richard Tracey on the ...