A royal commission into aged care will be “like lancing a boil” – painful, but necessary.
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That is the view of the head of Hobart’s Wicking Dementia Centre, which runs programs and education courses across the state and runs education bachelor courses supported by the University of Tasmania.
Professor James Vickers welcomed the news from Prime Minister Scott Morrison of the royal commission into the sector but urged the government to ensure the commission was “solutions focused”.
“It’s timely [the royal commission], but it will be incredibly painful for those who are working already in aged care,” Professor Vickers said.
He also renewed calls made by Braddon Labor MP Justine Keay, who called on the government to ensure an inquiry hearing was held in Tasmania.
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Professor Vickers said Tasmania was ideally placed to take advantage of the royal commission as the research done by the Wicking Centre could offer some solutions to the problems.
Wicking Dementia Centre was established in Hobart in 2008, is supported by UTAS and the Wicking Trust and is the first of its kind in the country.
It has a focus on education and research and offers online dementia courses and a Bachelor of Dementia Care through UTAS.
Professor Vickers said Tasmania’s ageing population made it the perfect base for the centre.
He said one of the programs included embedding one educated person, who has completed the Wicking Centre’s Bachelor of Dementia Care into aged care homes to help them adapt and put structures in place to care for those patients.
Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics and Council of the Ageing Tasmania show the median age of the state’s population was the highest of all states and territories at 42 years.
Professor Vickers said it was the incredible growth of the aged care industry over the past 10 years that has contributed to the stories emerging after the announcement of the royal commission on September 16.
“We find that it call comes down to lack of knowledge,” he said.
He said aged care workers had their industry shift under their feet, from being one of retirement villages and relatively autonomous older people, to one that is significantly more health-based.
A larger number of people in aged care homes also have some degree of dementia.
He said the Royal Commission would help to “reset the expectations and standards of what is quality care”.
Professor Vickers said he anticipated the inquiry would have an impact on the aged care sector, and had the potential to turn people away from the profession.
He urged the government to consider carefully its terms of reference and to ensure that work was done to attract and retain people to work in the sector.
Tasmanian Liberal senator David Bushby encouraged residents to have their say in the royal commission.
“There are thousands of operators, facilities, care providers, nursing and other clinical staff, volunteers, cleaners, cooks and therapists here in regional Tasmania and across the nation who are out there improving the lives of senior Australians every day. This is something we should all be proud of,” Senator Bushby said.
“However, following intensified policing and inspections of the aged sector over the past year, information has come to light through the Aged Care Complaints Commissioner, the Australian Aged Care Quality Agency and the Department of Health that makes the case for a royal commission into the sector compelling.”
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