NATIONAL UPDATE
ROYAL COMMISSION WRAPPED-UP THE FIRST STEPS ON THE ROAD TO REFORM
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he Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety was established on 8 October 2018, and over the course of two-and-a-half years, it analysed 10,574 submissions and heard from 641 witnesses at 26 hearings. Its Terms of Reference summarised the focus of the Commissioners’ inquiry under the following key themes: • Quality of aged care services • How best to deliver aged care services • Look into future challenges and opportunities for delivering accessible, affordable and high quality age care services • What the Australian Government, aged care industry and wider community can do to strengthen • How to ensure services are person-centred • How best to deliver services in a sustainable way • Other matters considered to be relevant (including COVID-19) The first year centred on case studies and particularly honed in on the quality and safety elements of the inquiry, especially the lived experience of individual service users and their families. Hearings called on a small number of providers and from this were extrapolated a number of propositions put by the Counsel leading the investigations on behalf of the Commissioners. The formal hearings were supplemented by a series of community engagements, and the combined evidence led to
the publication of the Interim Report - Neglect, with the focus squarely on providers. The timeline of the Commission was extended due to the volume of work and the interruption of COVID-19, which itself became an additional area for review. While technically related to outbreaks in New South Wales, this led to the first element of the Final Report (Aged Care and COVID-19: special report), published early in response to a need for guidance and action. This report acknowledged the commitment of aged care providers and workers to protect older Australians in their greatest ever challenge. The final year of hearings turned attention away from the individual experience and to the systemic issues facing the industry. The Final Report was described by the Commission as containing 148 wide-ranging recommendations for the Continued on page 19
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