Category Archives: Aged care

She helped design Australia’s aged care assessment tool – but now Lynda Henderson is too scared to use it

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Exclusive: Member of working group behind questionnaire had no idea it would eventually be underpinned by ‘ridiculously simplistic’ algorithm

One of the people involved in the development of the federal government’s controversial aged care assistance tool says she’s now too scared to use it, saying she never wanted needs to be determined by algorithm.

As fellow advocates warned people’s care and funding needs were being underestimated, Lynda Henderson – who sat on the expert advisory group to develop the Integrated Assessment Tool (IAT) – said the assessment questions were aimed to assist those making clinical judgments.

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Australia’s broken aged care home support system is ensuring that loved ones live and die without dignity

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Alan Nicolle was already approved for urgent aged care supports, but delays and confusion under a ‘Kafkaesque’ system made his final days exhausting and painful

Dying Australians approved for government-funded aged care home support are struggling to access it, with carers describing a system plagued by delays and lack of control around how funding is spent.

The accounts of carers and aged care assessors spoken to by Guardian Australia show that beyond the controversial, algorithm-driven assessment process for home care funding, many are left without adequate and timely support even after funding has been approved.

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Algorithm-based tool for home support funding is cruel and inhumane, Australian aged care workers warn

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Exclusive: Mark Aitken, who worked in the sector for 16 years, said eight times out of 10 he disagreed with the integrated assessment tool

Aged care clinicians and carers say an algorithm-based assessment tool that determines federal home support funding packages is “cruel” and “inhumane”, stripping away clinical expertise and leaving elderly people with inadequate support.

The integrated assessment tool (IAT), introduced in November, is used across aged care to determine eligibility and classification for services, including residential care.

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‘Stranded’ aged care or disability patients occupy up to one in 10 hospital beds in Australia, report finds

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State and territory treasurers who commissioned the report say it shows need for federal government to pay bigger share of public hospital funding

Up to one in 10 public hospital beds are taken by “stranded” patients awaiting alternative accommodation in aged care and supported disability accommodation, a new report shows – bolstering calls for more federal health funding.

The report on the drivers of public hospital costs was commissioned by state and territory treasurers to inform negotiations on the next national health reform agreement (NHRA) with the commonwealth government.

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Dinner or a shower? Elderly people fear tough choices when Australia’s new aged care changes are rolled out

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Advocates warn increased costs for basic assistance like showers and wound cleaning will push older people into aged care or hospital

Margaret Duckett is scared for her friends.

The 77-year-old pensioner is the recipient of a home care package – which allows her to get support with cleaning, gardening, transport, physiotherapy and podiatry – and some personal care, so she can continue living independently at her home in Sydney’s Riverview.

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Woman charged with sexual abuse of seven Sydney aged care residents

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The 46-year-old allegedly recorded video on her phone of abuse against elderly patients at a home in Grasmere

A woman has been charged after allegedly sexually abusing residents at the aged care facility where she worked, recording the assaults and sharing the videos with her partner, a 54-year-old man who was also arrested for possessing and disseminating bestiality material.

The 46-year-old will face a New South Wales court after an investigation into alleged sexual violence against residents at the home in Grasmere in Sydney’s Macarthur region.

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Coalition election win could cause loss of hundreds of jobs at agency scrutinising aged care mistreatment, modelling says

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Exclusive: Peter Dutton’s plan to reduce public service may see 26.5% jobs at Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission disappear, according to union

Hundreds of jobs could be lost at the government agency responsible for investigating allegations of serious wrongdoing and mistreatment in aged care homes if the Coalition wins the election, the public sector union has warned.

The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission has hired more than 500 public servants since the 2022 election to deal with a backlog of complaints from residents and to resolve a “staggering” number of real, potential or perceived conflicts of interest involving consultants paid millions of dollars to conduct audits in homes.

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All the 1 January changes in Australia: Centrelink increases, import bans and pay rises

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Bigger Austudy and carer allowance payments, higher Medicare safety net thresholds and mandatory corporate reporting on climate also in 1 Jan changes

With the new year comes new policies, laws, taxes and reforms. Here’s everything to know about changes on 1 January, 2025 that could affect you.

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All the 1 January changes coming to Australia in 2025: Centrelink increases, import bans and pay rises

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Bigger Austudy and carer allowance payments, higher Medicare safety net thresholds and mandatory corporate reporting on climate also ahead

With the new year comes new policies, laws, taxes and reforms. Here’s everything to know about changes on 1 January, 2025 that could affect you.

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‘Deplorable’: nurse slammed therapy doll dementia patient believed was real baby on table, NSW tribunal hears

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Sudiksha Ahuja found guilty of unsatisfactory professional conduct and her nursing registration cancelled

An aged care nurse who slammed a dementia patient’s therapy doll on a table and laughed at the distressed patient who believed it was a real baby has been found to have been “callous and deplorable”.

Sudiksha Ahuja was found guilty in August of unsatisfactory professional conduct after being prosecuted by the Health Care Complaints Commission before the New South Wales civil and administrative tribunal, the commission said in a statement on Tuesday. On Monday, the commission cancelled Ahuja’s registration as an enrolled nurse.

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Push to count ‘sleepovers’ as breaks could lead to 28-hour shifts for Australian care workers, unions warn

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Fair Work Commission to hear case brought by business group asking for change to safety net for care industries

A business push to count “sleepovers” as breaks in care industries could result in “nightmare” 28-hour shifts without penalty rates, unions have warned.

This week the Fair Work Commission will hear a case brought by the Australian Industry Group asking it to change the safety net for care industries to clarify that hours worked before or after a sleepover count as separate shifts.

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‘Will haunt me for life’: nurse suspended over Covid lockdown baby shower in Melbourne aged care home before deadly outbreak

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Father-to-be was unaware of planned party at Epping Gardens aged care facility and stayed only five minutes, tribunal hears

An aged care nurse who attended a baby shower at a nursing home during a Covid lockdown has been suspended, telling a tribunal the mistake “will haunt me for the rest of my life”.

Staff at the Epping Gardens aged care held a surprise baby shower in July 2020 for registered nurse Denis Baniqued and his wife, who also worked at the facility.

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How do you best choose an Australian aged care facility and what do the star ratings mean?

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Experts have questioned why so few homes are rated substandard, given the commission found one in three residents experience neglect, abuse or poor care

The star rating system of aged care homes was introduced in December 2022 to help older people and their families compare the quality and safety of services and providers.

Developed as a recommendation of the royal commission, the system has repeatedly come under scrutiny. Experts and unions have questioned why so few homes are rated substandard, given the commission found one in three residents experience neglect, abuse or poor care; and how homes on the non-compliance register manage ratings of three stars and above.

If you are having issues or concerns with your aged care, call OPAN on 1800 700 600. The National Dementia Helpline is also available on 1800 100 500.

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Aged care in the home improves lives and saves money. So why are Australians being made to wait?

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‘If you ignore people at a point where they really need some of that earlier intervention … then you’re up for a higher cost,’ says expert

Twenty years ago, Patrick Evans beat cancer. Now aged 76, the repercussions of the radiation treatment that helped him are setting in.

“He has very serious aspiration and that causes him pneumonia and that lands him in hospital on a regular basis,” his wife, Inda, said. “He had a very bad episode last year and was basically in a life or death situation.”

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Australia’s health watchdog warns patients are being overprescribed psychotropic medication

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Royal commissions into disability and aged care found ‘a fundamental problem’ with how the drugs were used

Glenda Parkin was 56 when she was diagnosed with younger-onset dementia, a rare visual variant of Alzheimer’s disease known as posterior cortical atrophy. She became functionally blind and her ability to perceive the world around her gradually deteriorated.

While the diagnosis forced Parkin to retire at the zenith of her career as a school principal in Perth, losing her abilities to read and write alongside other basic capabilities, she carried on a fulfilling life, according to her husband, Bronte, her carer for 10 years.

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Many aged care workers may wait until 2026 for full pay increase as Albanese government requests phased implementation

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Commonwealth requests Fair Work Commission phase in full 23% increase over two years to prevent workforce shortages elsewhere

Aged care workers should wait until January 2026 for the full 23% pay rise ordered by the Fair Work Commission, according to the Albanese government.

The commonwealth has requested that the commission phase in the increase over two years, from January 2025 and 2026, to prevent “large one-off wage increases” that would add to workforce shortages elsewhere in the economy.

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Aged care workers to get 23% average pay rise as union heralds move as ‘one of the best outcomes’ ever achieved

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Health Services Union secretary says new benchmark pay rate will make sector competitive with public health system

Aged care workers will receive an average pay rise of 23% after the Fair Work Commission delivered its decision in a long-running work value case.

The commission’s expert panel said those involved in direct care including nurses and home care workers deserved pay rises “substantially” higher than the interim 15% pay rise ordered in November 2022.

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New online tool reveals how much Australian aged care homes spend on food, care and services

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Anika Wells says ‘Dollars to Care’ tool which allows users to compare homes on key metrics will ‘hold providers to account’

Aged care residents and their families will be able to see exactly how their home spends their money on food, care and services through a new online tool the Albanese government says will hold providers to account for how they spend taxpayer money.

The government is also using increased levels of data about aged care homes to monitor whether providers are passing on the full wage rise granted to staff by the federal government.

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More than 1,000 cases of neglect reported each month in Australia’s aged care homes

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Regulator worried about ‘concerning spike’ in neglect cases, which advocates say are the result of workforce shortages

More than 1,000 cases of neglect are being reported in residential aged care homes each month, prompting a warning from the sector’s regulator.

The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission (ACQSC) has flagged “a concerning spike” in neglect cases over the past 12 months and raised concerns about inadequate care standards.

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Consultants reported more than 520 conflicts of interest during audit of Australian aged care

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Commissioner says high number of real, potential or perceived declarations reflects a ‘robust conflict management processes’ but union says figure is ‘staggering’

Four consultancy firms reported more than 520 real, potential or perceived conflicts of interest while being paid more than $40m to audit the safety and quality of aged care homes over two years.

The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission (ACQSC) last year revealed some of the audits were rejected as they did not meet standards set by the federal government, which needed to launch a specialist unit to support the consultants and improve their work.

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