Submissions to the parliamentary Inquiry into the Quality of Care in Residential Aged Care Facilities in Australia close on the 1st of March 2018. Click here for more information.
According to their terms of reference the Committee will inquire into and report on:
- The incidence of all mistreatment of residents in residential aged care facilities and associated reporting and response mechanisms, including the treatment of whistle blowers;
- The effectiveness of the Australian Aged Care Quality Agency, the Aged Care Complaints Commission, and the Charter of Care Recipients’ Rights and Responsibilities in ensuring adequate consumer protection in residential aged care; and
- The adequacy of consumer protection arrangements for aged care residents who do not have family, friends or other representatives to help them exercise choice and their rights in care.
The Committee was formed on the 6th of December 2017 and to date has received 27 submissions. Their first hearing will take place in Canberra on the 1st of March.
The work of the committee this month coincides with the reporting of allegations by nursing staff in a Townsville residential aged care facility concerned about suspicious deaths of residents and a ‘culture of unsafe care and cost-cutting at the home’ (Queensland nursing home deaths spark police inquiries, The Australian, 21 February 2018).
Click here for more information about making a submission to the Committee.
Please note that the Committee is unable to investigate individual cases. If you have concerns or complaints in relation to the treatment of a resident or the quality of service provided in an aged care facility please consider contacting the Aged Care Complaints Commissioner on 1800 550 552 or click here for more information.