The Depa
rtment of Social Services received 2,256 notifications of reportable assaults in 2012-13, which represented 1 per cent of the 222,042 people receiving permanent residential care, new government figures show.
Of those, 1,878 were recorded as alleged or suspected unreasonable use of force, 349 as alleged or suspected unlawful sexual contact and 29 as both.
According to the 2012-13 Report on the Operation of the Aged Care Act from the Department of Social Services, 2,581 of the 2,723 accredited residential facilities – or 94.8 per cent – were accredited for three years at 30 June 2013.
In 2012–13, the Accreditation Agency conducted 5,689 visits to aged care homes, an average of 2.1 visits per home. These visits included 931 re-accreditation site audits; 51 review audits, of which nine were unannounced; and 4,707 assessment contacts, of which 3,060 were unannounced.
Of the 51 review audits, 17 homes were the subject of a decision not to revoke or vary the period of accreditation; 27 were the subject of a decision to vary accreditation; and seven were subject to a decision to revoke accreditation.
During 2012–13, the Accreditation Agency identified 181 homes as not having met one or more of the 44 expected outcomes of the Aged Care Accreditation Standards.
The annual report also shows that during 2012-13, the Aged Care Complaints Scheme received 12,065 contacts of which 8,074 were “in scope”. Of these, 18.9 per cent were from an approved provider, 34.7 per cent were from a representative or family member of a care recipient and 8 per cent were from the care recipient themselves. The remainder were from external agencies, other areas of the department or from anonymous persons.
The top five issues were:
- Health and personal care, for example infections, clinical care, continence management, behaviour management and personal hygiene (26.5 per cent);
- Consultation and communication, for example internal complaints process, family consultation and failing to advise enduring powers of attorney or guardians (12.2 per cent);
- Physical environment, for example call bells, cleaning, equipment, safety and temperature (10.1 per cent);
- Personnel, for example number of staff and training/skills/qualifications (10.0 per cent); and
- Choice and dignity, for example the care recipient is treated with dignity and respect (7.5 per cent).
During 2012–13, the Scheme finalised 3,694 complaints, which included some complaints received in 2011–12.
Elsewhere, the report shows that in 2012–13, the department received 141 applications from entities seeking approval as providers. Of these, 73 were approved, 43 were still being considered and 25 were withdrawn. At 30 June 2013, there were 1,686 approved providers. In 2012–13, it was necessary to revoke the status for two approved providers.
The report also shows that $932 million of new building, refurbishment and upgrading work was completed during 2012–13, involving 16.6 per cent of all homes. A further $1,628 million of work was in progress at 30 June 2013, involving 11.7 per cent of all homes. At 30 June 2013, 15.2 per cent of homes were planning building work.
Read the full report: 2012-13 Report on the Operation of the Aged Care Act
