Comes the day of reckoning for our aged care industry

THE aged care sector is facing its biggest crisis ever — a Royal Commission into its quality and safety. How it responds, or is forced to respond, will set the agenda for the industry’s future.

Some providers will almost certainly suffer critical brand damage from which they may struggle to survive. However, those who listen, learn and respond will provide the leadership needed to reset industry standards and, over time, restore overall community confidence and trust in a sector that is facing exponential growth over the next 20 years.

The scale of what confronts the aged care sector over coming months of Commission hearings can be measured against the fallout of both the Royal Commission into child sexual abuse and the Royal Commission into banking. The reality is, there is now no places to hide for those providers who have ignored, or simply discounted, the need to provide real, quality care for their clients and to ensure their safety and wellbeing.

It is important to stress at this point that there are providers who are doing a commendable job of caring for our aged.

Those operators have nothing to fear, even if there may have been occasional incidents where things could have been done better. For them, such situations normally prompt positive reaction driven by a commitment to always do better.

The fact the Royal Commission began its proceedings in Adelaide last week by first hearing from those whose loved ones have allegedly suffered under the mismanagement of some aged care providers is a clear signal that those who have failed to meet community expectations are going to be put under the blowtorch of uncompromising, public scrutiny.

The same approach was adopted by banking Royal Commissioner Kenneth Hayne QC.

There is a stark lesson for every aged care provider in his summary of NAB’s appearance before him. He made it clear that he was ‘not persuaded that NAB is willing to accept the necessary responsibility for deciding, for itself, what is the right thing to do, and then having its staff act accordingly’. As a result of those comments, the Chairman and Chief Executive of NAB lost their jobs.

So, what does this mean in practical terms for aged care providers who face the prospect of appearing before the Royal Commission into aged care?

First and foremost, do not try to hide the truth — no matter how damaging it may appear to be. It will be nothing compared to that which will befall any operator who is caught covering-up facts. The first rule of crisis management is to tell the truth, tell it all and tell it now.

Secondly, do your homework. Make sure you know — as far as you can — the full details of any misconduct or mismanagement within your organisation, whether contemporary or historic, and be prepared to deliver those facts to the Royal Commission. Coupled with that, you must be in a position

to demonstrate that, having experienced those failures, you have taken steps to try to prevent any repetition.

Finally, be prepared to demonstrate genuine empathy with those you have failed as well as remorse and a willingness to do better — and mean it.

When the Royal Commission hands its report to government next year, it can be expected to recommend, among other things, protocols, policies and procedures to govern the future management of aged care facilities across Australia. While these will presumably be central in ensuring both competency and consistency in the delivery of aged care services in the years ahead, they are only rules, and we all know rules are too often broken, especially when profitability is at stake.

Aged care is not simply a consumer-based product, it is a community-based necessity.

Almost everyone, directly or indirectly, has a stake in the quality and reliability of aged care services.

That’s because most of us have loved ones who at some stage are likely to require a level of service from an aged care provider. It is in that context that every person involved in the sector, from investors and managers to employees and service providers, needs to accept that the core ethos of what they do should embrace the principle of meeting community expectations.

During and following the Royal Commission, the community’s expectations of the aged care sector will be considered and defined. Those providers who accept that reality and strive not just to meet, but exceed community expectations, will set the benchmark for the future. They will recognise that profitability is no defence for failing to meet expectations. Somehow, the argument that cost must inevitably govern the level of care needs to be resolved, possibly through government intervention.

However, be sure of one thing. The community will not tolerate inadequate care of those who we love and respect.