New method for tackling aged care complaints 'will help fix broken system'
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Version 0 of 1. A new complaints mechanism in the aged care industry goes some way towards fixing a broken system, seniors groups say. From Monday, all complaints about government-subsidised aged care facilities will be handled by the aged care complaints commissioner, Rae Lamb, rather than by federal Department of Health. “This change will strengthen the aged care complaints process, and is now completely separated from the regulation and funding of aged care,” the health minister, Sussan Ley, said. Ian Yates from the Council on the Ageing welcomed the changes, saying his organisation had called for more independence in the complaints system for 12 to 15 years. “We are very pleased about it,” Yates told Guardian Australia. “We think that means that consumers will have more confidence in the scheme.” Lynda Saltarelli from Aged Care Crisis said housing the complaints mechanism in the department that determined policy responses was “a big conflict of interest”. Giving Lamb more powers would “give some confidence to the people”, Saltarelli said. The prevalence of elder abuse and neglect is difficult to gauge, as comprehensive statistics on the problem do not exist. As much of the abuse and neglect takes place in the family home, it’s likely the problem is under-reported, seniors groups warned. Proving financial and emotional neglect – the most common forms of elder abuse – can be extremely difficult if the people are vulnerable, ill or reliant on their abusers, Yates said. “There’s not a great deal of scrutiny in the home,” he said. “People won’t complain against their family.” Yates estimates up to 7% of older Australians could be subjected to abuse or neglect. Saltarelli said the care industry has been “hijacked” by market interests and does not have enough community input. “The aged care system is completely broken in Australia,” she said. Yates wants wholesale reform of the industry, including nationalised standards of care and complaint resolution. Lamb rejected suggestions incidents of elder abuse were increasing, pointing out that only 3,700 complaints were made in the past 12 months, but “hundreds of thousands of Australians receive care”. “I certainly don’t think that it’s on the rise,” she told Guardian Australia. Aged care will become an increasingly important issue as Australia deals with the ramifications of a ageing population. The Productivity Commission estimates the number of Australians aged 75 and over will increase by four million between 2012 and 2060, taking the overall senior population from 6.4% now to 14.4% in four decades. |