Introduction

Reproduced summary: Oh no! Not another Aged Care Inquiry - but this time it might really matter [Dr M.J. Wynne]

This page examines some of the many inquiries and reviews relevant to the aged care sector conducted during the 14 years between 1997 and 2010.

That there is still concern about the operation of the sector is clear.

View the following content and detailed analysis of aged care inquiries can be found on Dr M.J. Wynne's website.

Reproduced summary: Oh no! Not another Aged Care Inquiry - but this time it might really matter [Dr M.J. Wynne]

Summary:

A vast amount of effort has been devoted to multiple reviews and reports. Although many of our concerns have been raised and remedies sometimes advised fundamental flaws in the system remain and recommendations have not been implemented.

Many of the problems can be traced back to the Aged Care Act of 1997. This attempted to turn aged care into a marketplace and at the same time ensured that the sort of information which might show that this was not working was not available. The system has become opaque so that no one knows what is really happening.

The tragedy of this ill considered legislation was not only its impact on the morale and manner of operation but even more tragically the steps it took to prevent anyone from accessing the sort of information which would have shown that this was not working and that change was needed.

Politicians have had to rely on incomplete and probably flawed financial data that a reluctant industry was prepared to disclose to an investigative body that was going to tell government how much to pay them. This large and complex report was filled with impressive figures and complicated modeling by impressive academic institutions. This made it look highly credible. On that basis far reaching recommendations were made. How many of those politicians who accepted and voted on those recommendation had actually read the body of the report and how many had asked how that data was obtained and questioned its integrity?

The community have had to rely on whistleblowers, prepared to risk their careers and that of their families for the public good, and on newspapers prepared to send their reporters into nursing homes run by two of our most credible and powerful operators. Only because a reporter went disguised as a voluntary helper to find out what was actually happening did we find out. These are the groups that a lowly accreditator, assessing the nursing home would think twice about censoring. If one of the senior staff from these groups was not on the board of the agency then his or her mates would be. Assessors would be well aware of what had happened to nurses who blew the whistle and would think hard about their own careers and what was best for their families.

Core problems then are, serious understaffing and deskilling of nursing and medical staff, a loss of morale, radically different perceptions of care in the sector, so little information about finances and standards of care that rational decisions cannot be made, broken accreditation and complaints systems, cherry picking of wealthy residents, an approved provider system that does not protect, a lack of protection from excessive commercialism, a lack of transparency and the disengagement, disenfranchisement and disempowerment of the community.

The time for change has come. Lets make sure that self-interested grandstanding and obfuscation by our politicians does not derail it. They may stab each other in the back to gain power but lets make sure they don't do it to us.

The productivity commission has asked for input and every citizen has the right to do that.

Those of us who are worried should write to them and tell them what we think. Go to http://www.pc.gov.au/projects/inquiry/aged-care

Reproduced summary: Oh no! Not another Aged Care Inquiry - but this time it might really matter [Dr M.J. Wynne]