CARE BREACHES REVEALED
TWO Townsville aged care facilities have been rebuked for more than 20 breaches in two damning reports.
Blue Care Shalom Elders Village, a facility that looks after Aboriginal elders, has failed to comply with eight standards, with a number of failures stemming from the alleged sexual assault of a resident last year.
The second aged care facility, Bolton Clarke Rowes Bay, was found to be noncompliant on 13 standards.
The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission reviewed the two facilities this year and both homes have since been working to address the issues. Bolton Clarke, which was assessed in January, reported that the facility was reaccredited in March.
TWO Townsville aged care facilities have been rebuked for more than 20 breaches in two damning reports.
Blue Care Shalom Elders Village, a facility that looks after Aboriginal elders, has failed to comply with eight standards, with a number of failures stemming from the alleged sexual assault of a resident in 2019.
The second aged care facility, Bolton Clarke Rowes Bay, was found to be non-compliant on 13 standards.
The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission reviewed the two facilities this year and both homes have since been working to address the issues.
Bolton Clarke, which was assessed in January, reported that the facility was reaccredited in March after it addressed the matters.
Shalom Elders Village in Condon was found to be noncompliant with providing “safe and effective care” of residents, with the report saying not enough documentation was kept regarding patients’ care.
“Care planning documentation generally reflects individualised care that is safe and tailored to the specific care needs of consumers,” the report said. “However, this was not the case for one consumer who was allegedly sexually assaulted in late 2019.”
The assessment team found clinic records for the resident did not include details about emotional support after the alleged assault and for three weeks after the incident, there was no information about the consumer’s wellbeing.
While the report suggested privacy could have been a key contributor to this, it said mechanisms should have been in place to ensure clinical records remained confidential.
The report added that the majority of customers were satisfied with their personal care and clinical care.
Uniting Care, which operates Shalom Elders Village, told ABC North Queensland that it regretted the result but had received a positive response from the commission about its progress.
Bolton Clarke Rowes Bay, which supports ex-service personnel, was reported to have a number of issues including not adequately speaking to residents about their end-of-life choices and treatment.
In some cases, residents were not given medication when it was needed and another resident was in palliative care without a plan in place for their end-of-life wishes.
Bolton Clarke chief operating officer David Swain said when the review was conducted, there were identified areas for improvement.
“All of the matters identified have since been addressed working closely with the commission,” he said.
“This was recognised with the service receiving its accreditation renewal a short time later in March.
“Our residents’ health and wellbeing is our priority.”