The Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety has released a special COVID-19 report which makes six recommendations to prepare better the aged care sector, its staff and residents for any future COVID-19 outbreaks.
In its report, Aged care and COVID-19: a special report, the Royal Commission said the pandemic was the greatest challenge Australia’s aged care sector had ever faced.
“It is clear to us that people receiving aged care services, their loved ones, those providing care and the aged care sector itself need immediate support and action,” the Royal Commission said.
“Now is not the time for blame. There is too much at stake,” it said.
“We are left in no doubt that people, Governments and Government Departments have worked tirelessly to avert, contain and respond to this human tragedy.”
“However, the nation needs to know what lessons have been and can still be learnt.”
The Royal Commission said there were four main areas where the Government could and should take immediate action to support the aged care sector, including funding providers to ensure there were adequate staff available to deal with external visitors; publishing a national aged care plan for COVID-19 and establishing a national aged care advisory body; arranging for accredited infection prevention and control experts to inspect residential aged care homes and also creating Medicare Benefits Schedule items to increase the provision of allied health and mental health services to people living in residential aged care.
Minister for Aged Care and Senior Australians, Senator Richard Colbeck said the Government accepted all six recommendations and had already made substantial progress on four of them.
Senator Colbeck said the recommendations built on the Government’s existing COVID-19 measures
The Royal Commission’s 30-page Report can be accessed at this PS News link.
