System under fire after aged-care death
The death of a rest-home resident after an altercation with another dementia patient has prompted fresh calls for an overhaul of the aged-care system.
This is the third time in a year that a coroner has called for a review of rest-home funding and it follows a damning report by Auditor-General Lyn Provost that criticised the Health Ministry for the way it monitored rest homes…
Geoff Hipkins, chief executive of Oceania Group's 63 rest homes and hospitals … said his organisation was considering using CCTV cameras… Increasing staff would make no difference, Mr Hipkins said.
Dunblane's dementia wing had 14 residents and "a worst-case scenario ratio of one staff member to seven residents". It was usually a 1:3 ratio, he said. "It's more about the quality of staff than the quantity".
Health Minister Tony Ryall says increasing rates of dementia are one of the biggest challenges for families and the health system in the next 20 years …
"The Government has put extra money into aged care this year – 5 per cent extra – including $18 million into nursing quality and supervision and there will be more in this year's budget."
There are 34,000 people in
> SOURCE The Dominion Post Last updated 05:00 04/02/2010
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