Download PDF: RAC Communiqué August 2018
In this edition
Editorial
Recommendations to prevent harm to young people in residential aged care services
Case #1: Don’t bother me while I eat
Case #2: One plan is better than two
Commentary #1: Avoidable deaths: what we can be doing better
Commentary #2: Young People in RACS: the role of the Rehabilitation Team
Research into young people in RACS in Australia
Save the dateList of Resources
National film tour screening and discussing “Dignity of Risk”
Editorial
Welcome to the third edition of the year. This edition examines the plight of young people who live in residential aged care services (RACS). No, that statement is not an oxymoron. There is a significant number of young people, defined as those under the age of 65 years, who rely on RACS for accommodation and care. The appropriateness of this existing arrangement and the availability of realistic alternative options are hotly debated.
The two cases highlight the common clinical issues confronting staff of RACS in the provision of care for younger residents, which can be quite different to older residents. The lessons learned from the cases around formulating and adhering to care plans as well as ensuring the staff have the necessary education and training also apply more generally to RACS.
We have two commentaries from experts in the field, one from Maggie Whitmore, who is the Acting Systemic Review Manager with the Disability Services Commissioner of Victoria. Maggie is part of the team conducting an analysis of the deaths reported to the Disability Services Commissioner. This report is being tabled in Parliament later this year.
The other commentary is written by David Murphy, the Director of Rehabilitation at St Vincent’s Hospital and chair of the Victoria and Tasmania Branch of the Australasian Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine. David examines the role of the rehabilitation team for young people in RACS.
We also highlight the findings from our team’s research into the subject as part of their Bachelor of Science Global Challenges Honours year. These short reports were written by Josh Zail, Alex Hopkins and Anna Cartwright, and are well worth a read.
On a final note, the ten recommendations from Monash University’s Health Law and Ageing Research Unit relating to this topic are available in their report, “Recommendations for prevention of injury-related deaths of young people in residential aged care services”. The full recommendations are available here