The risk management environment for aged care is being highlighted by the terms of reference of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety (the royal commission).
Of the extensive list of issues to be investigated and reported upon as set out in the terms of reference only a small portion of these issues focus directly upon headline grabbing personal safety issues inside residential facilities and home care.
That is, the commissioners are to report (in small part) on ‘…mistreatment and all forms of abuse, the causes of systemic failures and any actions that should be taken in response.’ A useful insight into the early direction the royal commission can be gleaned from the Background Paper 1 published by the royal commission in late February 2019. If one has time to read the paper when coupled with the terms of reference one gets a good feel for the issues most likely to eventually loom large.
