Raj Abrar: Australia will begin a public inquiry, or Royal Commission, into the country’s aged-care sector as a spike in cases of elderly abuse creates a “disturbing trend”, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said yesterday.
The inquiry comes at a time when the number of Australians moving into residential care is set to jump, with the population aged 65 years and above, according to official data. The number is expected to more than double to 8.9 million by 2055.
“I think we should brace ourselves for some pretty bruising information about the way our loved ones, some of them have experienced some real mistreatment,” Morrison said.
Over the past year, one service provider on an average has been shut down daily by the government, revealing “a very disturbing trend in what is happening in terms of non-compliance and abuses and failures of care”, he added.
Australia’s A$20 billion ($14 billion) aged-care industry, which accounts for about 1.2 percent of its GDP, has about 2,000 care service providers offering home support, home care and residential care. Some of the industry’s listed players include Japara Healthcare and Regis Healthcare.
-Source: Reuters