Aged care residents receive top care for continence but not for mental health, end-of-life or infection, world-first study finds

Aged care residents receive best practice care for continence issues but substandard attention when it comes to other common conditions including mental health, end-of-life care and urinary tract infections, according to world-first Australian research. Led by the Australian Institute of Health Innovation at Macquarie University, the study, published today in the international journal BMC Medicine, […]

Registrations open for draft new Aged Care Act consultation workshops

A new Aged Care Act is being introduced in response to a key recommendation made by the landmark Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety. The new Act will aim to put the rights and needs of older people at the centre of aged care and improve how aged care services are delivered to […]

New members appointed to National Aged Care Advisory Council

The federal government has appointed new members to the National Aged Care Advisory Council. Established in response to recommendation seven of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, the Council provides expert advice to government on key matters related to the aged care sector including implementation of aged care reforms, and building the […]

‘It’s the old people’: Why enrolled nurses (ENs) belong in aged care

Last year (2022), just two weeks out from Christmas, Tasmanian enrolled nurse Julie Wicks and dozens of her colleagues working across Southern Cross Care’s aged care facilities were asked to front up to a Monday morning meeting over Skype. Shock quickly spread after staff learned about plans to make all ENs redundant, meaning they wouldn’t […]

Nursing students can now access supported clinical placements in aged care

Bachelor of Nursing students can now apply for supported clinical placements in aged care through the federal government’s new Aged Care Nursing Clinical Placements Program. The program involves clinical facilitators providing specialist support to nursing students, who must complete a minimum of 800 hours of clinical placement as part of their courses, while they are […]

Suffering in silence: The reality of elder abuse

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines elder abuse as “a single or repeated act, or lack of appropriate action, occurring within any relationship where there is an expectation of trust, which causes harm or distress to an older person.”1 Abuse can be financial (manipulation of financial decisions, seizing of assets), psychological (threats, name-calling, belittling), social […]