industry & policy
Four Corners fallout
Photo credit Four Corners: Peta Bormann
What some of aged care’s
strongest voices make
of the program.
By Dallas Bastian
I
n the past, major ABC TV reports
have had a lot of influence on the
Australian public and on policy –
for better or worse.
Four Corners, for example, prides
itself on its history of sparking debate
and triggering inquiries. A recent
study found that in the eight months
after Catalyst called into question the
effectiveness of statins, an estimated
60,000 people stopped or reduced
the cholesterol-lowering drug, some
potentially putting their lives at risk.
So, what will come of the ABC’s most
recent major investigation into the aged
care sector?
Four Corners recently aired its two-part
series into the treatment of the elderly in
aged care homes.
Some in the sector have posited that its
impending airing prompted Prime Minister
Scott Morrison’s decision to call for a Royal
Commission into aged care.
The sector was quick to condemn
the gaps in care the program’s
whistle-blowers aired.
Aged & Community Services Australia
chief executive Pat Sparrow said the stories
of individual suffering were unacceptable.
“As an industry we share the dismay felt by
the community when older Australians and
their families are hurt by neglect or poor
care,” Sparrow said.
That point was echoed by Minister for
Senior Australians and Aged Care Ken
Wyatt, who said he was “appalled by the
lack of care” shown for older adults.
He said in a statement: “[The stories]
have highlighted the importance of the
reform agenda we are implementing
to increase the regulatory oversight of
Australia’s aged care sector.
“We have to prepare ourselves for the
Royal Commission to uncover some pretty
bruising information about the way our
loved ones have been mistreated.”
While COTA Australia chief executive
Ian Yates said the examples of poor care
uncovered in the report are not new, he
added: “What is most disturbing is that
every case highlighted on Four Corners last
night was a breach of existing aged care
standards, and some were a breach
of professional clinical standards, but
apparently none were the subject of
formal complaints – and all that is totally
unacceptable in modern Australia.”
Yates added that the sector needs
workers who want to be there, care
about the residents, have proper training
and support, and are backed by proper
clinical management.
He called on every aged care worker
with examples of abuse and neglect to
report such cases to the Australian Aged
Care Quality Agency on 1800 978 666,
adding this can be done anonymously.
The Australian Nursing and Midwifery
Federation commended those who
spoke out in the program and added its
members have long raised concerns about
practices uncovered, such as restriction of
continence pads and inadequate food.
“Every day that we wait for the Federal
Government to act on staffing shortages
is yet another day that the most vulnerable
members of our society are forced to
suffer – without proper care, without proper
food, without compassion and without
dignity,” federal secretary Annie Butler said.
Whether or not Morrison got the
ball rolling for the Royal Commission
because of the Four Corners’
investigation, multiple stakeholders and
representatives suggested it will play an
important role in addressing the concerns
raised by the voices in the story.
They also seem to be in agreement
about the fact that the issues need to be
addressed before it wraps up.
Leading Age Services Australia said
while the Royal Commission is underway,
“we must press on with addressing key
workforce and funding issues, and not
lose sight of making the system better
right now”.
Yates said it must be specifically
resourced to ensure it can answer the
question of how much funding is needed
to provide high quality care for older
Australians. “This will then allow Australia to
have a clear conversation about how best
to fund the gap.” ■
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