On 8 June 2018, HelloCare published an article on its website titled ‘Gangrene, Agonising Infections Reported At Recently Re-Accredited Newcastle Nursing Home’. The article described a series of medical conditions suffered by residents of the nursing home and suggested that those conditions were caused or contributed to by a lack of adequate care on the part of Tinonee Gardens The Multicultural Village. HelloCare accepts that the matters described in the article are complex medical conditions and were not presented in...

Monitoring pain in aged care residents is crucial to ensure their comfort and quality of life. To improve the management of pain and to create pain vigilant aged care facilities it has been proposed that pain is considered the fifth vital sign, after temperature, pulse, blood pressure and respiration rate. Pain needs to be assessed regularly and the presence of pain - or inadequately controlled pain - should be investigated at admission, whenever there are significant changes in the resident’s...

Have you known of someone who had an operation, and family and friends say afterwards, “They haven't been quite the same since”? Sometimes surgery can subtly impact mental abilities. In particular, after surgery some patients report problems with memory, attention, multitasking, and concentration. This condition has been dubbed ‘postoperative cognitive dysfunction’ (POCD), and it can last months - even years. The other bad news is it can be a sign of even worse to come. Developing postoperative delirium and postoperative cognitive...

In this episode of Grey Matters, Tracey and Ben discuss the importance of laughter as we age. Social interaction is important for all of us at all stages of our lives and research is now showing us just how important it is for older people. Loneliness can have far-reaching health impacts and can have a worse impact on people than smoking or obesity. Find out how to avoid this with tips on adding social interaction, friendships and laughter into your...

A six-year-old child has been killed after an elderly woman failed to stop when reversing her car out of a parking space. The incident occurred at a pedestrian crossing at Nambour supermarket on the Sunshine Coast on Sunday. The six-year-old’s older sister and her mother were also injured in the incident, but their injuries are not life threatening. The 86-year-old driver of the car was treated for shock, and is helping the police with their inquiries. The incident has understandably...

Those who lives in smaller towns and rural areas are the happiest people in society, research shows. And so it follows that smaller, more intimate, aged care facilities also have happier residents. “In smaller units the wellbeing is better. It’s been well established,” said Colin McDonnell, Dementia Excellence Practice Lead with not-for-profit aged care provider, Scalabrini. Units of 12-15 beds, even if they make up a larger overall facility, are the design standard in aged care, said Mr McDonnell...

In 35 years of working with people living with dementia and the aged population, I have lived by Thomas Kitwood’s philosophy, of person centred care: I am caring for a person with dementia, not a person with dementia. I am caring for a 90-year-old man living with heart disease, kidney failure and lung disease not a 90-year old man living with heart disease, kidney failure and lung disease. It is so important that we see the person first and treat...

Exercise doesn’t prevent the cognitive decline of people with dementia, according to new research from Oxford University. Until now, the theory that exercise might slow the cognitive impairment of people living with dementia had “widespread popularity”, and doctors have recommended that people with dementia follow an exercise program to slow the progress of the condition. However, there had been limited studies on humans to prove the hypothesis. And now those theories are likely to be laid to rest. Researchers from...

I’ve always had a close relationship with my Grandfather (Pop). When he was diagnosed with Vascular Dementia following a major stroke in 2016, there was no other choice but to place him in a high care dementia unit of a private aged care facility. Pop’s children live interstate now, so I thought it was important for me to visit him as often as possible. Even though he was different after the stroke, he was still the same kind and loving...

Australia is about to experience a ‘silver tsunami’ with the population aged over 65 growing at a rate never seen before. However, this booming demographic risks fewer and poorer housing options unless our state and territory governments do a better job of planning for housing for older Australians, including retirement villages. The Retirement Living Planning Report Card, published by Urbis and commissioned by the Property Council of Australia, assesses states and territories on their performance in planning for seniors housing...

Public comment is being sought on the draft version of a new national Retirement Living Code of Conduct which all retirement community owners and operators will be encouraged to sign up to as part of their commitment to delivering great experiences for senior Australians. More than 3,000 Australian retirement communities are providing accommodation and services to almost 300,000 people aged 65 and over, helping to extend their independence, facilitating access to health and wellbeing solutions, and providing new...

The number of 'serious risk' notices that have been issued so far this year by the Australian Aged Care Quality Agency is already more than twice the number issued last year. A 'serious risk' notice is issued if an aged care home fails to meet one of the industry’s 44 standards, and the chief executive of the AACQA believes there is evidence the failure puts, or may put, the safety, health or wellbeing of a resident at risk. From July last year...