Friends, the royal commission into aged care released its first report yesterday afternoon. For many of us, the horror stories are sadly nothing new, but these "shocking tale of neglect," caused partly because of "underpaid, undervalued and insufficiently trained" staff confirm what I have been saying for years: we need mandated staff/resident ratios.
Can you tell your friends about this petition, while all of Australia is talking about aged care?
Some of the most shocking revelations in the report centre on chemical restraints, leading to "widespread over-prescribing, often without clear consent, of drugs which sedate residents, rendering them drowsy and unresponsive to visiting family".
Reports from 2012, yes SEVEN years ago, already revealed that up to 6,000 people in aged care were dying prematurely as a result of this over-prescribing. Surely, aged care facilities with adequate staff numbers, who are paid properly and trained sufficiently would stem this tragic tide of premature deaths.
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Already, the PM is out promising more funding for the aged care sector - which is of course welcome. But money alone won't fix this crisis. We need mandated staff/resident ratios. We don't need to just plug up this broken system with extra cash - we need to fix it, properly, before more precious lives are lost.
Please, while all of Australia is talking about aged care today, can you share this petition? Apparently, sharing via your social media/email/phones helps grow petitions 5x. Today is the day we need everyone to sign.