'War of the Worlds' hits aged care

Like many people my age, I struggle to find anything entertaining these days. Almost everything I like is fattening, illegal, or impossible. So I end up on SBS-TV, affectionately known as "Sex Before Sleep". I am watching War of the Worlds on SBS. And it seems to me that the war against Covid-19 is like a war waged on us by aliens, who hit us at our most vulnerable. That means the poor, the undernourished, and those in aged care.

Australia a success?

We sit in a place of paradox. On one hand, we're told we're lucky to be here. Rates of infection go ever higher in the USA, where Biden's running-mate Kamala Harris says it's Trump's fault that an American dies of the virus every eighty seconds. Brazil's virus death rate is rocketing off the charts. India is an unfolding catastrophe. And none of us could confidently assess the rise of the pandemic in China. So Australia seems to be doing well, and Prime Minister Scott Morrison makes reassuring noises and says 'sorry' about problems in aged care.

But we saw that the virus hits the most vulnerable. And inquiries into aged care expose a running sore. The Royal Commission has seen some dramatic revelations. Geriatrician Joseph Ibrahim pointed out some brutal facts: "Hundreds of residents will die prematurely because people failed to act". The Federal Government failed in its attempt to open discussions with its own adviser, Dr Brendan Murphy, before the Commission , though he was able to make a statement denying the Federal Government's failure to prepare aged care facilities properly for the virus. Its Minister for Aged Care has been missing in action from public discussions for months. Peter Rozen, QC, said the Government had no virus plan for aged care. In fact the Government has issued guidelines, which allow for a lot of room for cunning aged care providers to move. Rozen added that sixty eight per cent of Australian virus deaths had happened in care homes. And the government was too fond of self-congratulation on its efforts.

What went wrong? We can look at what older people in care need and what they get.

What older people need.

"Don't put me in an old folks' home", my Dad said to me. "I hate old people". He was 92 at the time. Old people aren't that interesting. We find it convenient not to think about them a lot, perhaps because we don't feel comfortable confronting our own decline. Thus we put them away in places with a nice name: "Sunny Acres" or "St Mary Magdalen's Home". And thus they are out of sight and out of mind, for most of the population. But most older people are similar to us. They need first-rate food. They need exercise. They need supervised medical care. And they need entertainment. Some of course have mental and physical challenges. There isn't space to go into all the different needs and health challenges they face , but we must remain aware of them.

Many of us in the population at large have injuries. One night years ago I went out jogging to improve my health. And got run down by a car. But I had a reasonable recovery. Just this year, I accidentally bashed my head on a footpath in a park, probably trying to show how fit and strong I was. Most of us bounce back from these things with the help of good medical care, as I did. Older people don't. Sharon Brennan-Olsen says for older people, a broken hip is a death sentence. Falling off a ladder is often a disaster. And thus older people need more care than the rest of us.

Research is coming out aimed at protecting older people, especially men, who seem somewhat more vulnerable than women. There are now articles in press explaining all this in detail. The article I read by Neto et al. stresses an anti-inflammatory diet, avoiding fast food and stressing some protein, fresh fruit and many vegetables. They add to this turmeric; and fish like salmon (or fish oil). And exercise targeted to the needs and interest of people. Then all we need is some good company, maybe some young faces. People these days are well aware how much older folk are excited being around their grandkids. All of this is a challenge in a pandemic, but not impossible.

What older people get

It's clear that older people in 'care' get far less than this. It's easier to keep people quiet, in bed or in an armchair, than have them move around. Some must be restrained from wandering about. Many have mobility issues, so it's hard to manage them. Yet human bodies must work muscles and stretch. In a pandemic, it's all far harder. But we have to try.

There are inspections and audits of aged care homes. But as older teachers know from the days of school inspections, smart operators can fudge an inspection. There are reports of extra staff being put on for the inspection. One source says staff and clients were induced to smile a lot and say they were happy. Any problems were swept under the carpet. The verdict on the audit was that it was all working well. Governments have sent check-lists to aged care homes. They rate their performance a big success, 100 per cent.

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Around Australia, there are hundreds of aged care facilities. Many are doing more or less as it suits them, slashing costs and cutting corners. It's rare that properly-certified registered nurses are mandatory. Staff are often not qualified to do the job needed. Many struggle with English, are poorly-paid and usually rushing to plug the gaps in the system. In sum, we are looking at a national disgrace. Michelle Grattan quoted Joseph Ibrahim:

This is the worst disaster that is still unfolding before my eyes and it's the worst in my entire career. There's a level of apathy, a lack of urgency. There's an attitude of futility which leads to an absence of action. When I voiced my concerns, I have had comments saying that everything is under control, that I'm simply overreacting and causing panic .

In the same article, Diana Asmar, secretary of the Health Workers' Union, said

"The lack of communication, the lack of training, the lack of staffing and the lack of protection unfortunately has caused a huge concern in the aged care sector," she said. In brief, she said, members felt they were on the Titanic. Other health workers detailed many examples of unacceptable health and safety problems, leaving sick older people uncared for, uncomfortable and distressed.

A proposal to act- defeated

Last year Federal Parliament had before it some critical amendments to aged care legislation. These would force aged care providers to reveal how money was spent. How much was spent on food? What did staff cost? And how much went to providers, of the twenty billion dollars provided by the Federal Government? A study of eight hundred homes showed that the average cost of meals per resident was a measly six dollars a day. An interim report of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety had revealed a "shocking system" which was "inhumane." Details of complaints, assaults and staff numbers were all kept hidden. The amendments proposed to open this up to public scrutiny. But the Government defeated it, with the help of Pauline Hanson. Private profit had defeated public welfare, yet again. And there is far too much private profit in an aged care system funded by the Federal Government. It's disgraceful for older people in 'care homes' to be eating slops while aged care owners are driving expensive cars.

Conclusion.

Parliament is in a long recess. We're told it's not safe for MPs to be there. (Yet we've been told it's safe to open up schools.) A parliamentary recess happens to be convenient for the Government, who might not want detailed questions about their responsibility for aged care. Or their part in Ruby Princess's contribution to the spread of the virus. But the Government should face the music. We know the Bart Simpson defence: "It wasn't me, I didn't do it, I was a long way away at the time".

This virus, as we said, is like an attack by aliens. Defeating it will need people to work together. We need the States and Commonwealth to work together for the national good. Private profit must be pushed aside.

These matters affect us all. Unless we die in the interim, we will all need some kind of aged care when we get older. Time for action, State and Federal Governments!