Why can’t people in aged care sleep in?

Australians in aged care facilities are having their rights as citizens eroded by regulation and regimentation that requires carers to tick a box rather than meet individual needs, an international conference on dementia has been told.

Dr Stephen Judd, the CEO of HammondCare, which operates three facilities in North Turramurra, said nursing home residents were “dragooned into group activities reminiscent of school camps and their liberty is restricted without the safeguards that protect mental health patients.”

Addressing the 8th Biennial International Conference on Dementia at Darling Harbour, Dr Judd said fear of non-compliance often drove aged care providers “to take the easy route and fall into line with paternalistic regulators”.

He asked why older Australians in home-like residential care had to be up and dressed at 8am each morning.

“Why can’t they sleep in? Does anyone seriously believe an older citizen in residential aged care has not had their rights eroded, by being obliged to conform to a regimented schedule that revolves around what suits staff or operational efficiencies?”

He said foods such as seafood, soft cheese, fresh cut fruit, vegetables and soft eggs were often classified by State food authorities as high risk for all aged care residents, regardless of their health.

“The Food Authority does not say you can’t serve a poached egg, just that it should be cooked at 62 degrees for 17 minutes,” he said. “That’s not a poached egg. That’s an organic piece of pottery that’s been fired and come out of a kiln.

“Let’s ensure we have the highest possible food safety standards, but this example of a protective disciplinary culture in which the rights of older citizens are being steadily eroded should be resisted.”

Dr Judd also questioned whether patients should be restrained, stating research had shown wandering was not so much a symptom of dementia as a sign of distress, yet the focus seemed to be on restricting liberty rather than finding the cause.

“It makes me wonder how long will it be before an older Australian takes legal action against a service provider and the Government for illegal restraint.”

He said the challenge for aged care facilities was to focus on the person rather than the task.

source: north-shore-times.whereilive.com.au