The short answer is that they were both at the centre of a recent tragic event that occurred at a NSW aged care facility.
On 5 July 2023, a 95-year-old resident in the facility was tasered by police, and later passed away.
In a performance report undertaken by the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission (Commission), the facility, which had a good compliance record previously, was found to be non-compliant in relation to Standard 8 of the Aged Care Quality and Safety Standards.
There are eight quality standards and Standard 8 is called “organisational governance”.
Although the connection between organisational governance and the tasering of a 95-year-old resident by police is not immediately apparent, the Commission found that facility’s organisational governance was lacking and this attributed to the way events unfolded on the day that the resident was tasered.
In finding that the facility was non-compliant in relation to organisational governance, the Commission said:
“Whilst the organisation has restrictive practice related policy and procedures in place which are informed by legislative requirements, the procedures lacked required details to guide staff practice, especially documentation in accordance with the Quality of Care Principles 2014 – Part 4A Behaviour support and restrictive practice.”
It was also said that:
“The provider’s risk management systems and practices did not always identify and respond to abuse and neglect of consumers.”
More generally, the sector performance report published by the Commission for the quarter of April-June 2023, identified that effective governance is one of the most common areas where non compliance is arising in residential aged care, and in the delivery of in-home services by providers.
In relation to the delivery of in-home services by providers, the sector report indicated that a failure to have effective governance was the most common reason for the Commission to issue a direction of non-compliance.
While on the topic of governance, every provider should be bearing in mind the requirements of the Code of Conduct for Aged Care Providers and particularly the reporting requirements in relation to key personnel. Very stiff penalties apply to non-compliance with these requirements - including substantial fines. More information regarding Provider’s responsibilities relating to governance, can be found here.
This tragic incident should provide an important reminder for all providers to revisit their governance practices to ensure they meet all Aged Care Quality and Safety Standards.
At HopgoodGanim Lawyers we have expert Effective Governance and Aged Care and Health services which have a long track record of advising on the governance of, and implementing policies for the Aged Care Quality and Safety Standards, including Standard 8. Please reach out if you would like to discuss how your organisation can ensure it is and remains compliant.