The Federal Department of Health has imposed sanctions on a Warrawong aged care home after an audit identified an ''immediate and severe risk'' to the safety, health or well-being of its residents.
Multicultural Aged Care Illawarra failed a whopping 39 out of 42 national accreditation standards in a shock assessment by the Australian Government's Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission after a week-long audit last November.
Under the sanctions, MACI will not be eligible for government funding for any new residents for six months and could lose its approval as a provider of aged care services if relevant training is not provided to staff.
In particular, the ACQSC report states that the facility's staff must be adequately trained in the appropriate use of psychotropic medications; wound care and pain management and preparedness for a COVID-19 outbreak.
As part of the requirements, MACI has also had to appoint an external adviser until May 12 to help it comply with its responsibilities in relation to care and services, while ACQSC will continue to monitor the service.
The not-for-profit aged care facility houses 100 residential aged care beds, with a specialised 17-bed wing for residents with low level dementia. In a previous audit, in April 2018, MACI met all 44 expected outcomes of the accreditation standards. However the report from the most recent audit was damning.
The review found that some residents had "not received care that was safe and effective, best practice, tailored to needs or which had optimised their health and well-being".
Further, it reported that the needs of some consumers nearing end of life were not recognised and addressed, "including to maximise their comfort and preserve their dignity".
Meantime deterioration in the condition of some residents had "not been recognised and responded to in a timely manner".
"The information gathered also showed standard and transmission based precautions had not been consistently used to prevent and control infection, there was a lack of COVID-19 outbreak management preparedness, and implementation of antimicrobial stewardship was not demonstrated," the report stated.
Examples of where the facility had failed in its care included instances where residents had had psychotropic medication ordered without a related diagnosed mental disorder, physical illness or condition.
On at least three occasions, the report found medications which had been given by staff to a residents had not been ingested; plus there had been instances where residents had not received medication, or had received the wrong medication.
Meantime strategies for falls prevention were sometimes ineffective - in one case a resident with a known falls risk had eight "found on floor/falls incidents" from April to August 2020.
Another example of care failure was in a resident who had a choking episode after being served and eating food which was not of a consistency recommended by a speech pathologist.
CEO Joe Gaudiosi - who joined MACI in September after a six-year stint as CEO of the Wollongong Conservatorium of Music - said the facility had not had any previous serious non-compliance or sanction issues in its 30-year history.
"MACI was first opened in 1991. Its special focus is people from a multicultural background but also people with limited financial reserves," he said. "MACI currently has 70 per cent of its 90 residents as concessional or financially supported, likely one of the highest of any aged care provider in Australia."
Mr Gaudiosi said improvements were well underway to ensure MACI's internal documentation, systems and processes aligned with well established, and newer, quality standards for aged care.
As well as engaging an independent nurse advisor and consultant to assist and oversee the improvement plan, management was also reviewing staff in order to reduce reliance on agency staff.
Mr Gaudiosi said residents and families were immediately notified about the sanctions in November, and were receiving regular updates.
"MACI's three year aged care accreditation coincidentally was set for June 30, 2021 and therefore the current work and effort for re-accreditation coincides with the improvements for the sanction," he said.
"Board, management and staff are committed to continuing to provide quality care to older people in the Illawarra community."
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