Minister defends unannounced nursing home visits in Parliament
The Minister for Ageing, Mrs Justine Elliot, has detailed the Australian Government’s unannounced visits program for the nation’s nursing homes, in answer to a question in Federal Parliament, saying they protected frail and aged Australians.
Mrs Elliot called on the Federal Opposition to express its bipartisan support for unannounced visits.
As of 1 July, the Aged Care and Accreditation Agency began a program of 7,000 visits, including 3,000 unannounced visits and 1,500 site audits.
Currently, three of the nine nursing homes in Australia under sanction were identified – through unannounced visits — by the Aged Care Standards and Accreditation Agency.
From 1 July to 14 August, the Aged Care and Accreditation Agency and the Department of Health and Ageing have conducted 501 and 178 unannounced visits, respectively.
Aged Care Standards and Accreditation Agency
- NSW/ACT, 163
- Victoria, 147
- Tasmania, 18
- SA/NT, 64
- QLD 64
- WA, 45
Total: 501
Department of Health and Ageing
- NSW/ACT, 43
- Victoria, 39
- Tasmania, 6
- SA/NT, 38
- QLD, 47
- WA, 5
Total: 178
Mrs Elliot said unannounced visits are commonplace in Australia across a range of sectors.
“Unannounced visits are even more important in aged care, where frail elderly residents are cared for 24 hours a day, and are often unable to speak out if they have concerns about their care,” Mrs Elliot said.
“Unannounced visits give an accurate picture of a facility’s day-to-day operation.”
In the case of a nursing home where ‘serious risk’ has been identified, the Aged Care and Accreditation Agency visits daily until the ‘serious risk’ has been removed.
The Department of Health and Ageing will also send Commonwealth Nursing Officers to monitor the quality of care being given to residents.
