A friend has just been through process to sack his mums package provider because they were overcharging items and services. It should be easier to assess providers based on fees, charges and transparency, as well as quality, care and safety. Why can’t there be an aged care or NDIS whitecoat?
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There are strong arguments for banning the for-profit private sector from some markets.
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It seems to be business as usual and we can always trust business to do the right thing. Right we can.
An empty apology from a CEO who will bank his pay and bonuses, and life will move on for the company. No worries about how Bupa created what they did, nor penalties for doing so because Bupa is too big to fail. Perhaps bigger bonuses for managing the crisis… voters seem to prefer business friendly pollies and parties so I will not hold my breath for serious reforms that help us, although there could be reforms to better isolate and protect the businesses.
God forbid a business be damaged and thus exits the market no matter how bad or culpable they may be. It sometimes can be a hard decision to take them to the walls, but. It shouldn’t be.
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The Commission goes on but …
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Great editorial. Consumer protections for customers/clients of community services and their consumer rights and other protections are a great area of interest for Choice, particularly in home services, a site that can be out of view.
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Aged care and disability services used to be provided by governments
That’s the problem right there. Governments don’t want to be responsible. A lot of the problems would still be occurring but instead of some private company being blamed, the government would be being blamed. Outsourcing, in one form or other, is very convenient for the government in order to avoid some of the blame.
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An article regarding the disgusting slop served to residents of an Adelaide nursing home as their Xmas meal.
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It is interesting that when a previous Commonwealth Govt contracted out roofing insulation work, the public reaction and that of parliament was almost universal in saying who was accountable.
Note:
The Commonwealth Govt is still the provider of a significant portion of the funding. The parliament of the Commonwealth remains accountable, perhaps even more so than in the instance of the “Pink Bats” saga. Given the number of lives and quality of life aged care impacts, neither bath the actions of our politicians in glory.
A failure of any contractor to provide safe and respectful services is a failure of the Commonwealth. The precedent is well established.
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It depends
The only precedent I am aware of from this government is whether money flows to an appropriately deserving entity as they see it, not whether that entity is an appropriate or capable or trustworthy contractor. Too many examples to post without funding a new HDD for the forum 
s/jaded and cynical
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On a more personal note we are now facing older aged parent crisis no 2. The immediate family response is who is going to take care of the lovely gran when or if they are ever released from rehab after a fall.
There is no hesitation in not condemning them to a managed facility. Worse now with how poor most are.
Is this a clue to the real agenda of our current government? Towards zero costs for managed aged care by making it an impossible option? All that is missing is a smoke and mirrors system for getting home support, like the NDIS. Oh! there is a system for home care support. Been there once before.
Too little too late to make a real difference. 
Thank you to those who fought for the Royal Commission. Perhaps by the time we are too old somethings may have changed for the better?
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Sadly that is almost guaranteed to be under the control of the electorate. Enough people respect the current mob as the better managers, and so we go. It makes one wonder how personal experiences such as yours affects, or does not affect, their votes noting that seniors are reputed to be conservative and vote accordingly 
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It is clear the government wants to assure we aged Australians get treated well in aged care. Oh wait?
This government seems to be at war with us oldies, yet so many oldies still think they care about anyone but themselves, their accounts, miners, and their miscellaneous donors. This government seems to have an active dislike for much of the electorate and will stop at nothing whether illegal or legal to stonewall and attack as evidenced by so many recent revelations in the press. The more vulnerable the person, the more hostile government becomes to them, or so it appears.
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The idea seems to be; if your become aged, infirm or otherwise vulnerable, then God has judged you unworthy. It’s therefore righteous to deny support.
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Should we admit to being deep in the process of helping one of our closest become a customer/client of one of these aged care facilities?
Just one simple observation for now. Apparently we need to adjust and refer to the individual as a “resident”. The notion of being a fee paying customer or client demanding a service seems lost to the system?
P.S.
Transparency, starting from the top down with the level of a Government support, Centrelink and Aged Care Services? Apparently you need to pay an Aged Care Financial Services Advisor a $3-4,000 fee to get some clarity. Although the included service of dealing with Centrelink etc on your behalf ensures obscurity remains a factor. We have skipped this step. What a learning curve! Hope there is a soft landing at the end.
Yes, the Choice guides help. It is far more complicated in reality. Plan ahead if you can.
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A two-edged sword perhaps? Perhaps the intention of “resident” is to assist with the settling in process. The people going into an ACF tend to be at an age where change is unwelcome. There may be an important difference in mindset between thinking about where you now live, as compared with imagining that you still live where you used to live and this is just a commercial transaction. I suppose we may both know the answer, come the day that it is we who are in the ACF …
Yes. A true government minefield of rules, conditions, terms, acronyms, …
I don’t suppose the RC will be looking into that. Not sexy. Not good television. No great sound bites.
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I might just note that the ACF we are currently sharing the experience with has provided us with a “Sales Manager” to facilitate the transition. That does lean one towards a particular mindset for the present.
Interestingly other ACF have staff in similar roles with much softer position titles. The outcome is doubtless the same.
It would be reassuring that for the typically $40,000+pa many residents (clients) are required to pay, the additional contributions made by the government on behalf of each individual in aged care remains invisible to the individual. You would hope that the funds allocated by government for the direct care of each individual are going to the individuals benefit and not elsewhere. That detail hopefully will not be glossed over after the RC concludes.
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Ooh that looks like a danger sign.
The whole question of how Aged Care is funded is a minefield.
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The CEO is ‘truly sorry’ so that must make it right.
“We sincerely apologise for the impact and distress caused to residents during this time.”
Where was she while her customers suffered?
'the findings prompted the Federal Health Department to sanction the home and cut off Government subsidies for three months.
In addition, the department said it would consider revoking the home’s provider status unless immediate action was taken to rectify its provision of care.’
That will truly make a point, surely it will 
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