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Aged Care Complaints Scheme - 'What can we learn?' report

PDF printable version of Aged Care Complaints Scheme - 'What can we learn?' report (PDF 27 KB)

Report on missing residents released

The Department of Health and Ageing has recently developed a ‘What can we learn?’ report about residents who go missing from Australian Government funded aged care facilities. It’s now available in the Industry toolkit on the Aged Care Complaints Scheme website.

The ‘What can we learn?’ report is based on analysis of missing resident reports made to the Scheme between 1 January 2009 and 30 June 2010.

This report is intended to be a useful resource for the aged care industry, and it:

• shares data analysis results
• highlights national trends associated with missing residents
• outlines potential risk factors that may be involved with residents going missing
• suggests interventions that may address these risk factors
• provides additional information about cognitive impairment, dementia and wandering behaviours.

The aim of the report is to provide the aged care industry with information relating to missing residents. Its contents should not be considered as instructions or advice.

A Clinical Perspective on missing residents, based on current research, is included as an attachment to the report. It contains detailed information about cognitive impairment, dementia and issues around wandering behaviours.

It also outlines possible actions which aged care services may take to manage resident’s wandering behaviours. This attachment compliments the report and may be used as a stand alone resource for aged care staff and providers.

This analysis of missing residents is the first in a series of ‘What can we learn?’ reports. Future reports will share what we learn from the information and complaints we receive, and may discuss possible actions the industry may take to better fulfil their obligations under the Aged Care Act 1997.

The department will add these reports and alerts to the Industry toolkit for easy reference and downloading, so be sure to subscribe to updates by entering your email into the ‘Subscribe to updates’ panel on the right hand side of the Aged Care Complaints Scheme website.