Aged care facility Northgate, situated in South Australia, is now under heavy scrutiny for the wrongful and excessive restraint of residents. This public home is host to 23 persons with dementia or other complicated disabilities. In a scathing report earlier this month, the federal regulator of those banks found shocking practices. These range from lap belts to special suits designed to control residents’ movements and stop falls. The findings have raised serious alarm about the facility’s ability to comply with federal aged care requirements. They further underscore troubling concerns about its commitment to resident health.
The federal regulator discovered that nine residents were secured in mode with lap belts. Moreover, five residents were subjected to custom-made one-piece suits that were intended to keep them from removing their clothing. In addition, ten of the resident’s rooms had bed rails installed. These practices have raised a lot of questions about the clinical leadership team’s compliance with clinical guidelines. Guidelines were companies’ playbook. Reports show that they operated under NDIS guidelines rather than the applicable federal aged care standards. Back in November, we outlined what went wrong at Northgate. When we were able to re-inspect in late May, we discovered that most problems remained, requiring us to ratchet up oversight even further.
Regulatory Oversight and Ongoing Issues
The state’s investigation into Northgate’s practices was originally opened after officials discovered that the use of restraints was being improperly used. The regulator noted that such drastic measures were regularly used without first considering different approaches. In some cases, the use of restraints was explained by staffing shortages, especially at night when sufficient monitoring was considered impractical.
“Behaviour management strategy without any prior trial of alternative methods.” – Regulator
The deplorable conditions at Northgate speak to larger issues of the standard of care we are delivering in these government run facilities. Minister for Human Services Nat Cook acknowledged the mistakes made by the facility’s clinical leadership team and emphasized the importance of adhering to appropriate care standards.
“I don’t want any service that is run out of our department to not be of the best standard and to that extent I am sorry that’s happened.” – Nat Cook
Yet for all these grim results, Northgate has consistently passed all other major key performance indicators and has been re-accredited through 2028. As of now, the facility has stopped taking new residents while it works on improving the identified areas of concern.
Commitment to Change
Minister Cook has committed to having significant remediation done within six months’ time. But she pointed out that the time is ripe for this to be an opportunity to change the culture in the jail. This transition is intended to better inform both practice and governance norms.
“What has already happened to this point has been an impetus for change and also a change in culture as well as a change in practice.” – Nat Cook
To support these developments, more stringent clinical governance standards and improving quality of personnel are among the current priorities. To help ensure this transition, Minister Cook announced they will be appointing the first-ever supervisor. This will help make sure that every measure of the quality of care follows these rigorous standards.
“That is why we absolutely have put in place a change of practice, an increase in clinical governance standards, an increase in the quality and the nature of the clinical staff.” – Nat Cook
The Minister is quite rightly committed to continuing to improve the quality of aged care services provided here in South Australia. This commitment follows significant recent criticism by the Aged Care Quality and Safeguarding Commission.
Advocacy Concerns
Nonprofit advocates like Anna Willis of Aged Care Justice have raised serious alarms about Northgate’s history and practices. Willis highlighted the severe impact that restrictive measures can have on residents’ dignity and well-being, stating that these practices are unacceptable within society.
“The impact of these restrictive practices is very high and it’s not to be tolerated by society.” – Anna Willis
Willis went on to decry the use of standard lap belts as, literally, physical restraints that impede movement and autonomy. She said it should not be up to government facilities to cut corners and encroach on residents’ rights, but instead set a standard of the highest possible care.
“Government facilities should definitely know better — they should not be understaffed, and they should be showing everybody else that provide services to elderly people how to provide best quality service.” – Anna Willis
The continued pressure in Northgate shows us how essential compliance to best standard of ethics-based care is for our elderly in these aged care facilities. With reform efforts just getting started, advocates and community members are still on the lookout for genuine, substantial reforms that will put residents’ dignity and safety first.
