An interim report, released Thursday, from the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety has found the nation’s aged care system to be in a “shocking” state of neglect.
The report by Commissioners Richard Tracey and Lynell Briggs, based on a 10-month probe, found that the national system failed to meet the needs of the elderly in an industry that was “unkind and uncaring”.
They found aged care to diminish Australia as a nation.
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The inquiry investigated aged-care housing, in-home care and care for young people with disabilities living in a residential aged-care environment.
The Commission found many weaknesses, including unsafe care and “underpaid, undervalued and insufficiently trained” staff.
Three areas were identified for immediate improvement. These are: more home-care packages for those on the waiting list, a reduction in the “over-reliance” on chemical restraints and stemming the intake of young people with disabilities into aged-care homes.
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