Australian Government acts on South Australian Nursing Home

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17 September 2009

The Australian Government last night (16 September 2009) imposed sanctions on Northgate Aged Care Pty Ltd, the approved provider of The Churchill Retreat in South Australia.

The Aged Care Standards and Accreditation Agency (The Agency) identified serious risk to the health, safety and well-being of residents during a review audit following a referral from the Department of Health and Ageing.

The Churchill Retreat is a 46 bed high care home with 10 residents aged over 90.

Preliminary information from Agency assessors indicates the home has not complied with numerous accreditation outcomes. The Agency is yet to make a final decision on the non compliance, however serious risk was identified.

Areas of serious risk identified by the Accreditation Agency include:

• Management and staff do not have the knowledge and skills required to ensure residents clinical care needs are met;
• Residents' care needs not routinely and regularly monitored resulting in inadequate and inappropriate care delivery;
• Pain management, palliative care, skin care, nutrition and hydration, continence, behaviour management, mobility and dexterity maintenance and sensory loss care is inadequate;
• Unsafe medication practices;
• Ineffective and inadequate fire and emergency systems; and
• Inability for the home to demonstrate that volunteers and contract staff have current police checks.

• Revocation of approved provider status unless the approved provider appoints an experienced nurse adviser– approved by the Commonwealth for a period of six months; and
• Cessation of Commonwealth subsidies for new residents entering the home for a period of six months.