With a number of media reports this week about a new study that found a jump in the number of ‘preventable’ deaths in residential aged care, we felt it was important to try to put the figures in perspective.
The study looked at coroner’s cases for the deaths of over 21,000 aged care residents between 2000 and 2013. Of these, 15 per cent (3,289) were caused by “external factors”, with over 80 per cent (2,679) due to falls.
Another 7.9 per cent (261) were caused by choking while 4.4% (146) were attributed to suicide.
The fact that these deaths could have been prevented is a tragedy. But I know from working in aged care how difficult it can be to prevent falls in the elderly.
Our other health services struggle even more. In 2014-15, there were over 33,000 falls reported in hospitals, with 4.5 for every 1,000 public hospital admissions and 1.6 per 1,000 for private hospital patients.
Residents older – and frailer
The sad truth is the average age of entry into aged care is now 84.5 for women and 82 for men. Residents are frailer and suffer from a wider range of illnesses. Of these, around 50 per cent have a dementia diagnosis.
Older residents are also more likely to be in pain, and be suffering from isolation or bereavement – all risk factors for suicide. All this may help to explain these figures.
We should remember that Australia is one of only a few OECD countries that requires aged care facilities to be formally accredited – and the numbers show that our providers are meeting the standards.
In 2015-16, over 97 per cent of facilities met all 44 standards set down by the Australian Aged Care Quality Agency (AACQA). The number of sanctions and non-compliance notices issued has dropped over the last five years, while the number of facilities failing accreditation standards has fallen in the past three financial years.
Numbers going down
Rates of assault have also only grown slightly from 0.9 per cent in 2009-10 to 1.2 per cent in 2015-16. Compare this to the wider community where the assault rate was 2.4 per cent, according to the ABS.
Last year, there were 1,746 complaints to the Aged Care Complaints Commission – a small number when you consider there are around 200,000 older Australians in residential care.
Even the study’s author Professor Joseph Ibrahim has acknowledged that the rise in deaths may be in part due to the “increased scrutiny” by the community and government.
Residents and their families can be comforted to know that the sector is being watched – and that the care and services they receive are being held to the highest standards.
