Concerns raised for elderly living in substandard aged care homes

Advocates want urgent improvement plans put in place to protect the welfare of residents.

One in every 10 aged care homes (approximately 270) in Australia only achieved a one or two-star rating as new quality assessment standards came into effect last month - effectively a fail.

Fifty-nine per cent achieved a three-star rating and 30 per cent received four stars. Only 1 per cent of homes received a five-star rating.

There are about 2700 aged care facilities in Australia.

Star ratings were a key recommendation of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety and have been introduced to enhance transparency in the sector.

Residential aged care homes receive ratings against four sub-categories: compliance, residents' experience, staffing and quality measures.

The ratings were published on the My Aged Care website at the end of December.

While welcoming the star ratings, the Older Persons Advocacy Network has expressed serious concerns for older people currently living in aged care homes that have received a one-star or two-star rating.

"Star ratings will enable older people and their families to compare quality across residential aged care homes and to make informed choices about where they want to live," said OPAN chief executive Craig Gear.

"An improvement plan must be urgently put in place for each of these residential aged care homes with oversight by the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission."

Mr Gear was pleased to see that the majority of residential aged care homes had received a three-star rating or higher.

"But while three stars might well be considered a pass, we expect providers to be actively working towards a four or five-star rating through their continuous improvement plans," he said.

"About 30 per cent of providers have achieved this gold standard, which shows it can be done.

"All older people are entitled to five-star care."

If you have concerns about your residential aged care home's star rating OPAN recommends:

Aged care star ratings indicate the quality of care at an aged care home, allowing comparison between homes.

Homes are given an overall rating from one to five stars based on four key areas - compliance, quality measures, residents' experience and staff rating.

To find the star rating of an aged care home visit the My Aged Care website.

Click on: Find a provider then click Find a provider by name (type the name of the provider) or find a provider near me (type the suburb name or postcode, pick options, pick room type) click search.

You can click on the various key areas to see how the provider performed.

To find out how star ratings are calculated: visit My Aged Care, search for Star Ratings/How are star ratings calculated.

Some homes may not have a star rating if they are new, under new management, recently re-opened, are experiencing data or IT difficulties, or have received a temporary exemption due to significant health or weather-related circumstances.