Our editor, Lauren Broomham (pictured left) led a 40 minute panel at the RLC conference made up of Rachel Lane of Aged Care Gurus, Patrick Reid, the CEO of IRT (and ex-CEO of LASA) and Anita Courtney, Principal at Russell Kennedy Lawyers.
They discussed the deficit of ‘trust’ in retirement villages after Four Corners and the Interim Report backs this idea that structured accommodation is not what the glossy advertising presents it to be.
The lack of distinction between retirement villages and aged care – as seen during the reporting on Earle Haven this year – adds to this problem.
IRT was one of the few operators to actually increase their village unit sales post-Four Corners – and Patrick Reid said they have worked hard to counter that loss of trust – particularly with staff.
He made the strong point that positive staff re-establishes ‘trust’ faster than any other action and was a major focus for IRT.
This bubbled on to residents and families.
The message was: invest in your staff.
