Aged Care Complaints Commissioner Rae Lamb has told a Senate Estimates Committee that it is common to receive more complaints and contacts when aged care is in the public spotlight, Australian Ageing Agenda reports.
The Commissioner’s 2017-18 report published in September showed the number of complaints had jumped 23% in the last 12 months to 5,779.
Ms Lamb says they are now working on how to be available to those making complaints and inquiries as the Royal Commission gets underway.
The Committee also asked Australian Aged Care Quality Agency (AACQA) CEO Nick Ryan about the recommendation that unannounced accreditation visits should be conducted outside of business hours made in the recent report by the parliamentary inquiry into the quality of care in aged care facilities.
Mr Ryan says most unannounced visits occur during office hours, but after hours unannounced visits are conducted if there is a level three referral from the Aged Care Complaints Commissioner about a major area of concern.
With the new Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission due to kick off on 1 January 2019 however, we predict more after hours visits are on the cards.
