‘Agency that approves care homes misses appalling neglect’

The federal agency that approves aged care homes had repeatedly missed horrendous cases of neglect, including some in which residents died, according to a report in The Weekend Australian.

The newspaper found that at least 10 aged care homes formally met all of the Australian Aged Care Quality Agency’s accreditation standards, but were subsequently found to have failed to provide a reasonable standard of care. Some of the failures included allowing an elderly woman with dementia to fall into a fountain, and another woman to be locked out of the home in temperatures of 46.6C. Both women died. In another case cited by the newspaper, an 89-year-old war veteran was attacked by mice while laying in his bed.

Aged care experts told The Weekend Australian that there were many more cases of abuse and neglect going undetected at homes that have been given a clean bill of health by the independent agency. The Australian Aged Care Quality Agency accredits care homes that are subsidised by the government, checking on the homes by conducting what it says are “at least one unannounced visit” and speaking to about 50,000 residents each year.

But the experts told The Weekend Australian that it was easy for homes to fool the agency’s inspectors, while accreditation itself was based on a vague “tick-a-box” system that means almost 100 percent of homes got the agency’s seal of approval.

The quality of government-subsidised aged care homes is in focus because of the appalling mistreatment of residents uncovered at the Makk and ­Macleay Nursing Home at ­Oakden, South Australia. On April 20, the state’s chief psychiatrist released a report alleging a series of serious failings at the home – which had been re-accredited by the agency just last year – including that residents were abused, overdosed on drugs and inappropriately restrained.

In a statement released yesterday, the agency’s CEO Nick Ryan said he was “very concerned” about the findings on the Oakden home.

“I am taking action to understand the findings of our re-accreditation audit from February last year that found the home complied with the accreditation standards,” Ryan said. 

An agency spokeswoman told The Weekend Australian that its inspectors focused on helping homes identify problem areas and improve their standards, rather than refusing to accredit or reaccredit them.

Are you concerned about the standards of care in some nursing homes? Would you be comfortable placing an elderly family member in a government-subsidised home?