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PDF printable version of Australian Government Acts on Katherine Aged Care – NT (PDF 27 KB)

19 April 2009

This weekend, the Australian Government imposed sanctions on the Katherine Red Cross Centre in Katherine, Northern Territory which provides residential aged care services – citing serious concerns about the safety and wellbeing of residents.

The Department of Health and Ageing imposed the sanctions due to serious risks identified by the independent Aged Care Standards and Accreditation Agency on 17 April 2009.

The official sanction was issued and served by the Department of Health and Ageing on late-Friday night April 17 to Australian Red Cross (NT Division). (It does not operate any other aged services.)

It is a 30-bed low care aged care facility and currently has 26 residents with only one resident over the age of 90.

The concerns were identified by an anonymous complaint and the Australian Government responded with an official visit.

At Katherine Red Cross Centre, the Accreditation Agency had concerns about:

• A lack of suitably qualified staff and insufficient numbers of staff to provide adequate care to the nursing home residents;
• Inadequate overnight staff;
• A lack of a working call bell system;
• Lack of training in emergency evacuation procedures;
• Errors in medication, ineffective medication management and in some instances residents had not received prescribed medications; and
• An insecure site where residents and staff felt unsafe at night in the nursing home.

As part of the Australian Government’s response, a range of tough measures have been put in place including:

• Ceasing Australian Government subsidies for any new residents admitted during the next six months.
• Requiring the provider to appoint an adviser, with nursing experience, approved by the Commonwealth, who has the appropriate skills, qualifications and background to assist the home to comply with their responsibilities for a period of six months;
• Obliging the provider to train staff in the areas that have given rise to the serious risk;
• Accreditation Agency assessors are to be on-site daily until the serious risk is mitigated; and
• Department of Health and Ageing staff will continue to monitor closely the home.

In the 2007-2008 financial year, the Katherine Red Cross Centre received $857,874 in Australian Government funding.

Nationally, there are now 14 nursing homes under sanction out of a possible 2,830 aged care homes.

Katherine Red Cross Centre will soon organise a family/residents’ meeting to inform them of the situation at the facility.

“We recognise that there are challenges in providing aged and community in remote and regional communities, but we will act when it is necessary,” the Minister for Ageing, Mrs Justine Elliot said.

“This Government is committed to continuing to work in partnership with older Australians, their families, staff, unions and providers to improve the quality of aged care in Australia.

“The Rudd Labor Government is committed to improving the care and quality of Australia’s nursing homes and its residents – after 12 years of neglect by the previous government,” Mrs Elliot said.

Anyone with concerns about the care or welfare of residents should immediately contact the Department of Health and Ageing’s Complaints Investigation Scheme on 1 800 550 552.

Aged and Community care funding in the NT

In the NT, there are only five aged care providers and 15 separate services providing 465 residential care places.

Overall, in 2008-09, the Australian Government would invest $64 million in aged and community care in the Northern Territory. That is an 11.8 per cent increase over the previous year’s expenditure in the NT.

Over the next four years (from 2008-09), the Australian Government will provide $285 million to the NT to support aged and community care.

Last week on a two-day visit to the Northern Territory, Mrs Elliot announced a three-year $36 million plan for Home and Community Care (HACC) services. This will provide help with household chores, home maintenance and modification, transport, meals, personal care and allied health and nursing care.

In addition, the Australian Government is training 45 aged care workers to provide quality care through the Northern Territory Emergency Response.

For more information, contact Mrs Elliot's office on (02) 6277 7280