Jan McLucas (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Aged Care, Disabilities and Carers) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Ageing, Senator Santoro. Can the minister confirm that the family of a resident at Rosanna Views nursing home in Melbourne lodged complaints about the care of their father in 2005? Didn’t their father die shortly after the family took him from the facility to a hospital in 2005, suffering from dehydration and a dramatic deterioration in his condition? Can the minister confirm that the family attended a mediation session with the provider and agreed on a resolution for the complaints, only to have the provider renege on that agreement? Didn’t a resolution committee then uphold the family’s complaints and highlight significant failures by the provider in the treatment of their father? Can the minister explain how the Rosanna Views nursing home was granted the full three-year accreditation while these serious complaints were being investigated and resolved?

Santo Santoro (Queensland, Liberal Party, Minister for Ageing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I can confirm that a person has made a complaint about the care received by her late father at Rosanna Views Residential Aged Care Facility. Given that the issues raised in the complaint relate to the private affairs of a person, I believe that it would be inappropriate to comment further on this particular case, except to say that the complaint has been considered by a complaints resolution committee of the Aged Care Complaints Resolution Scheme and a determination report setting out its funding has been provided to the complainant and the home for their consideration.

The care and safety of residents of aged care homes remain our highest priority. In this regard, I have announced the introduction of more robust arrangements for dealing with complaints. I think it is appropriate to remind the Senate that the new arrangements will replace the current aged care complaints resolution system with an Office of Aged Care Quality and Compliance within the Department of Health and Ageing. It will have the power to investigate all complaints and information; have structured intake and prioritising of all contacts by high-level, specifically train staff; have powers to determine whether a breach of the approved provider’s responsibility has occurred and, where a breach is identified, take appropriate action to remedy the breach; have the capacity to issue notices of required action to providers who have breached their responsibilities, to take compliance action where the provider fails to remedy the issue and, also, to provide feedback to the complainant on the outcome.

I can also again remind the Senate that the Australian government will establish a new aged care commissioner who will provide an independent review mechanism. The commissioner will have wide-ranging scope to hear complaints about action taken by the Office of Aged Care Quality and Compliance in dealing with complaints about care—

Jan McLucas (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Aged Care, Disabilities and Carers) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I rise on a point of order. It goes to the question of relevance. I can read that information on the website. I know about the changes that are being proposed. Can the minister answer the question that I asked, which substantially is: how could Rosanna Views nursing home be granted three years accreditation while these events were being investigated and resolved?

Paul Calvert (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I cannot tell the minister how to answer the question, but I remind the minister of the question. I call Senator Santoro and remind him that he has two minutes and 12 seconds to complete his answer.

Santo Santoro (Queensland, Liberal Party, Minister for Ageing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Mr President. I appreciate that additional time so that I can continue that answer, which I believe is in fact very relevant. As I have sought to inform the Senate from time to time, when I have been asked questions such as the one that I have been asked today by Senator McLucas, there are 3,000 aged care facilities within this country and, at any time, any 300 or 400—and I do not mind saying this to the Senate—will be not in compliance with one of the 44 outcomes. What happens in that particular case is that the agents of the department go in and ask the provider to show cause as to why action should not be taken against them.

What then happens is that a report is provided to the agents of the department and, if the action proposed is to the satisfaction of the agents of the department, the matter is considered to be under close scrutiny but closed for the purposes of whatever further action. What is happening in this place day after day is that the opposition senators pick an obscure event which—

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Corporate Governance and Responsibility) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Obscure!

Nick Sherry (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Banking and Financial Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Obscure! These are human beings!

Santo Santoro (Queensland, Liberal Party, Minister for Ageing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am not saying that this is an obscure event. What I am saying—and I answered Senator McLucas’s question very specifically—is that, because of privacy considerations, which should be respected by every senator in this place, I cannot go beyond that answer. I have very specific advice and I cannot go beyond that answer.

Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What about the process?

Santo Santoro (Queensland, Liberal Party, Minister for Ageing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am now addressing the process. If Senator Evans had bothered to listen, he would have realised that I am talking precisely about the process. What we have here, day after day, is opposition senators coming in and slandering the aged care industry of the states. They slander individual homes within which individual aged citizens—(Time expired)

Jan McLucas (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Aged Care, Disabilities and Carers) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Can the minister explain to the family why this facility did not receive any penalty for its failure to properly care for their father? Why has the provider been allowed to play the complaints system to their benefit and delay responding to the family’s concerns? Why were they granted a full three-year accreditation when they were clearly failing to deal with this complaint appropriately?

Santo Santoro (Queensland, Liberal Party, Minister for Ageing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I again repeat for the benefit of Senator McLucas and other senators that the complainants have been provided with a report of the findings. I cannot go beyond that. I do not know how clearly I have to say to Senator McLucas that I just simply cannot go beyond that. What I would urge Senator McLucas and Labor senators to do is desist from criticising, day after day, individual homes within the aged care sector. What happens in this case is that every time they make unfounded complaints against aged care facilities, as they have done this week, it is the residents, the relatives and the workers within those aged care facilities who are defamed and an alarm is set. Senator McLucas is hopefully the outgoing shadow minister, because I do not believe that she is fit to be that, given the campaign of smear and denigration of the industry. (Time expired)

Nick Minchin (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance and Administration) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper.