industry & reform
What really matters
It ’ s time for a new vision of ageing and care .
By Michael Fine
Despite all the scientific and medical
advances of recent centuries , nothing can bring back the dead we have lost due to the pandemic . Nor can the prosperity and general affluence of modern life erase the pain of losing loved ones or compensate for neglect and violation of those who have suffered needlessly .
But the publication of the Special Report on Aged Care and COVID-19 by the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety on 30 September does mark a point at which Australia can at last begin to hope that a new era for ageing and care is possible .
It is not a difficult , lengthy or obscure report . In 25 easy-to-read pages it makes six clear , practical recommendations . While they fall well short of a new blueprint for the future , these should go a long way to preventing the continuation of unnecessary deaths of residents of aged care homes if adopted and implemented .
Normally , aged care is an issue that receives little public attention . This low level of interest is reflected in the inadequate public funding , the poorly developed policy and in the shabby way in which so many who work in the field are treated financially and professionally .
But since the pandemic arrived the idea of normal no longer applies . As the special report points out , 74 per cent of all Australians who have died from COVID-19 to date were residents of aged care homes . There has also been a very heavy toll amongst staff . If effective policies for the management of infection within these homes had been in place , the death toll in this country could have been as low as one-quarter of what it has become to date . Effective measures against the pandemic in aged care are not just essential , they are clearly justified as a cost-effective response to the prevention of further pandemic pain and mortality .
The Royal Commission ’ s six modest recommendations are unlikely to cause controversy . What is liable to be controversial is their eventual implementation . Does the Australian government have what it takes to admit responsibility for the policy failures and follow up with corrective action ?
It is notable that the Prime Minister has not acknowledged the report or promised any remedial action . Senator Richard Colbeck , the Minister for Aged Care , however , has given the undertaking that the government accepts all recommendations and is prepared to spend an extra $ 40m on meeting four of them .
Confusingly , however , the minister also claimed that “ the Government maintains its position that it has a plan in place .” In declaring this he was responding to the Royal Commission ’ s key finding that there was a need for an over-arching “ defined , consolidated , plan ”.
The key recommendation of the report is the establishment of a national aged care
“ Does the Australian government have what it takes to admit responsibility for the policy failures ?
advisory body intended to provide the advice necessary to enable the Australian Government to play the vital leadership role it must play at the national level . The Commission has called for it to be based on members with expertise in aged and health care , including clinical geriatric care , as well as experts in infection control … in a “ home-like setting ” and who can advise on the operational requirements of a range of aged care services .
The body , with widespread representation , would also be responsible for developing protocols between the Australian Government and the states and territories that will “ maximise the ability for people living in aged care homes to have visitors and to maintain their links with family , friends and the community ”.
It would also have a range of other functions which would , presumably , extend to providing advice on staffing standards and other issues that today continue to hold back the delivery of appropriate care for all who require it .
The Royal Commission has spoken on COVID-19 , but its main report is still to come . But as the pandemic has shown , we cannot just sit and wait for the oracle to speak while postponing urgently needed reforms . It is a time when we need to acknowledge the problems we have long seen covered up .
It is clear that it will take more than $ 40m to fix the system and that we can no longer just trust the market to self-correct . What is required is a new approach .
With the pandemic in this country at least in retreat , now is the time we must mourn . We need to honour the dead and the wounded and , in their name , dare to dream again , and make sure our voices and those of consumers and carers are heard . ■
Michael Fine is an honorary professor at Macquarie University .
14 agedcareinsite . com . au