Caxton Legal Centre welcomes Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s decision to hold a royal commission into Australia’s aged care system.
The Seniors Legal and Support Service regularly assists older people whose right to receive quality aged care is not being met.
“Through the Seniors Legal and Support Service we encounter older people who have experienced abuse and neglect in aged care facilities. From older people refused visits from family and friends and ignored all day, to cases where sexual assault is being perpetrated by those working in the facilities, it’s time for a shake-up,” said Cybele Koning, Team Leader and Coordinating Lawyer of Caxton Legal Centre’s Family and Elder Law Team.
“Older Australians and their families are justified in asking for a radical change. It’s not just the cases of outright abuse which are confronting, but the overall treatment of those in our aged care system. Older people tell us that they feel like they are spoken to like children, not provided with the information they are entitled to, over-medicated, and do not have their health needs properly attended to. Some older people who contact our service have been unnecessarily restricted to locked dementia wards when they clearly have the capacity the live independently. As soon as they go through the front doors their human rights are diminished.”
“We agree that there need to be improvements to the way aged care is provided in Australia and hope that the royal commission will lead the way in exposing the truth of the shameful abuse and neglect that is occurring in aged care and identify how to address this most serious issue.”
Caxton Legal Centre’s Seniors Legal and Support Service assists people experiencing elder abuse using a lawyer-social worker multidisciplinary model. The service can be accessed by calling (07) 3214 6333.