Aged Care Insite Issue 93 | February-March 2016 | Page 14

news Have you witnessed elder abuse in your workplace? (e.g. hitting, pusing, kicking, verbal) Which of the following do you think increases the risk of elder abuse in your workplace? Abuse entrenched, widespread: survey Staff and residents are routinely victims at facilities, workers in NSW report. A survey of aged-care workers in New South Wales has highlighted abuse as a far-reaching and complex issue, one that is unlikely to be resolved without a co-ordinated federal and state approach. The NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association (NSWNMA) report Who Will Keep Me Safe? Elder Abuse in Residential Aged Care stated it’s clear that staff working in aged-care facilities face daily challenges trying to meet the needs of people in their care whilst ensuring that they and other residents are adequately protected against assault. Acting general secretary of the NSWNMA, Judith Kiejda, said the union’s members confirmed that abuse from resident to resident accounts for 12 agedcareinsite.com.au a substantial percentage of incidents observed in these aged-care settings. “More than 20 per cent of aged-care nurses we spoke to said they witnessed resident-to-resident abuse once or twice a week,” Kiejda said, adding a [