Herald Sun: Nicolette Burke

VICTORIA is the worst state when it comes to looking after its elderly citizens, making up almost half the official sanctions on nursing homes, and a third of all complaints.

The state is consistently at the bottom of the list for aged care.

Despite having fewer beds than Queensland and NSW, Victoria has proportionately higher complaints of neglect, mistreatment and substandard service of its elderly.

And problems in nursing homes are expected to worsen, with a rapidly ageing population and a doubling of the number of people aged over 65 in the next 40 years.

It follows revelations four dementia patients aged in their 90s had been raped and assaulted at the George Vowell nursing home in Mt Eliza.

The Herald Sun has been contacted by dozens of families concerned about the welfare of their parents and grandparents, with some resorting to:

• MARKING bed linen in pencil with a date, to see how often the sheets are changed. One woman reported her 98-year-old mother's sheets weren't changed for a month.
• BRINGING fresh fruit to loved ones, because of concern they are malnourished.
• SUPPLYING incontinence pads in bulk because some homes only provide two a day for residents, leaving them to "hold on" for hours.
• LABELLING clothes and personal items to prevent expensive goods vanishing and turning up being worn by other residents.
• KEEPING diaries of incidents and discussions with nursing home staff as potential evidence.

Minister for Ageing Santo Santoro has announced a review of the aged care system in the wake of these complaints.

He said yesterday a promised meeting with industry leaders would take place in three weeks.

He will ask members of the Aged Care Advisory Committee to investigate whether police checks should be compulsory for all nursing home staff, the issue of mandatory reporting for suspected abuse, how well the complaints scheme is working, and whether whistleblowers should get protection.

"Every effort is being made to ensure these places are up to scratch ASAP," he said.

"All parts of the department related to the issue of elder abuse or having some jurisdictional capacity . . . will be looked at."

Senator Santoro said he had received more than 200 emails and letters from concerned people following the revelations last week of the Melbourne elderly abuse cases.

He said he had met Deb Chapman and Gail Chilianis, the grand-daughters of one 98-year-old rape victim known as "Anna", who died last month.

Opposition aged care spokeswoman Jan McLucas said she hoped the views of residents' families and advocates were heard by the minister, as well as the peak industry bodies.

In the past financial year, Victoria topped the nation for concerns raised with the Department of Health's complaints resolution scheme -- for the fourth year running.

Of just over 1000 complaints made nationally, 290 were from Victoria. This is disproportionately high -- the state has just 25 per cent of the nation's aged care beds, but 30 per cent of the complaints.

And almost half the nursing homes punished most seriously for poor care -- under the Federal Government's sanction scheme -- have been from Victoria.

Since sanctions were introduced, 44 Victorian nursing homes have been penalised with the loss of government funding, and an enforced timetable to improve services -- more than double the next highest, in Queensland, and more than triple NSW.

There are now three Victorian nursing homes sanctioned by the Government, including the Grace of Mary Greek Cypriot Elderly Hostel in Epping, Hilary Blakiston House in North Geelong, and Wyndham Manor Aged Care Facility in Wyndham Vale.