28 April 2022
Another week, another litany of horror stories about the perilous state of aged care in this country.
In South Australia, Commonwealth Department of Health stats reveal 117 active COVID outbreaks in South Australian aged care facilities as of April 22, with 378 infected residents and 233 infected staff. Some facilities are now banning visitors and locking down residents.
Nationally the picture is just as bleak, if not just plain nightmarish. The Advertiser reports that maggots have been found in the wound of a Victorian aged care resident, while other elderly people are allegedly being left in soiled continence pads for more than 16 hours.
More than 6500 aged care staff, relatives of residents or residents themselves, have submitted anonymous reports to a website called Aged Care Watch, including 2,300 incidents of residents being left distressed due to a lack of care, 1,900 incidents of residents being left soiled for an extended period and 600 incidents of a resident suffering an injury due to a lack of care.
“The aged care sector is in an appalling state. More than ever, aged care needs a massive, urgent overhaul,’’ said ANMF (SA Branch) CEO/Secretary Adj Associate Professor Elizabeth Dabars AM.
“And yet not one member of this Morrison Government has committed to the ANMF’s push for:
• Registered nurses 24/7 at all sites
• Mandated staffing ratios and right skills mix
• Greater transparency of funding tied to care
• Improved wages and conditions
“No matter how grotesque the state of affairs within aged care, it seems nothing will move this current Federal Government to act,’’ Ms Dabars said. “It is simply shameful – a situation so dire it has become our national shame.’’