Lyndoch Living 'on notice' after audit reveals non-compliance in number of areas

The nursing home was found to be non-compliant in a number of areas including wound management and responding to falls in the latest report released by the federal government's Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission.

The commission is considering a response to the non-compliance, according to Member for Wannon Dan Tehan.

"The service did not demonstrate best practice clinical care in relation to wound and pain management," the commission's report states.

"Clinical staff described how wound care is impacted by staff shortages including delayed dressing and repositioning of consumers."

Unwitnessed falls were not always documented in an incident report, the commission found.

In addition to that, effective documentation relating to monitoring of a resident who had experienced a fall was not always completed.

"An incident report for a consumer who experienced an unwitnessed fall from bed stated observations were in place," the report states.

"However, documentation of neurological observations and pain monitoring were not reflected in care documentation."

The commission also found that not all shifts were filled when staff were deployed elsewhere within the service or when staff called in sick.

"Personal care staff interviewed advised they do not always complete all tasks allocated to them," the report states.

"Management described how they are currently in the process of recruiting more nursing and care staff to cover current vacancies."

Lyndoch Living also failed a requirement in organisational governance.

Keep Lyndoch Living member Jim Burke said the report was extremely disappointing.

The community action group was formed by residents interested in the future of the city's largest aged care facility.

Mr Burke said he couldn't understand why the commission hadn't sanctioned the aged care facility, rather than making further recommendations.

"I'm disappointed the commission hasn't acted more strongly," Mr Burke said.

Mr Burke said he was particularly concerned that a number of areas of non-compliance had been raised with the facility before.

"The commission gave them some guidelines and advice on what they should do and despite that, they've failed in some areas again," he said.

In a statement released to The Standard, Lyndoch Living said assessors had identified three areas out of the 44 requirements that required improvement.

"In line with the commission requirements, our team and managers have been working hard to make the necessary changes and we are prioritising and progressively implementing the audit recommendations for these three areas," the statement said.

"In addition, our action plan has included implementing increased training and clinical support for team members.

"This work will further strengthen our capacity to provide residents with excellent care and a safe and comfortable living environment."

The statement pointed to a number of factors that contributed to staff shortages.

"In the wake of a Royal Commission, a pandemic and industry workforce challenges, staff movement is far from unusual throughout the health and care sector, particularly in these difficult times," the statement said.

"The most important thing is that we are ensuring that all key roles are filled so that we continue to support our teams and provide the highest standard of care to our residents."

The aged care facility's statement said caring for the elderly was both a privilege and a responsibility it takes very seriously.

The commission made a number of recommendations, including training for staff in best practice wound care, a review of the processes in place when dealing with a fall and putting measures in place to ensure staffing is sufficient to fill all vacant shifts.

The nursing home has previously failed to meet a number of requirements, with an audit released in March revealing shortfalls in care, pain management, staff skills, observation and wounds.

Member for Wannon Dan Tehan said he was aware of the community concerns that had been raised about the quality of care provided at the Lyndoch.

"These concerns have been passed onto the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission," Mr Tehan said.

He said the commission had been closely monitoring the quality of care at the service.

"The commission's role is to accredit, assess and monitor aged care subsidised by the Australian government, both residential and in-home care aged care services, and also resolves complaints about these services," Mr Tehan said.

"The commission has undertaken a number of activities, including unannounced site visits, at the Lyndoch Nursing Home in 2020 and 2021, which have resulted in issues being identified at the service.

"When conducting an unannounced site visit earlier this year, the commission found non-compliance with the aged care quality standards in the areas of personal and clinical care and human resources."

Mr Tehan said the commission issued a directions notice to the provider on March 22 and the provider submitted a plan for continuous improvement, setting out how it would rectify the areas of non-compliance.

"The onus is on the aged care provider to maintain compliance and satisfy the commission that any non-compliance has been rectified satisfactorily," he said.

"If the provider fails to do so, the commission may take further regulatory action, which can include issuing a non-compliance notice, sanctions, shortening the accreditation period or revoking approved provider status."

Mr Tehan said the commission conducted an assessment contact of the service in September,

"This assessment contact involved the commission reviewing a range of the provider's documentation and conducting interviews with staff, consumers and management at the service, to consider whether the provider is meeting its obligations," he said.

"This assessment has resulted in the commission finding further non-compliance."

Mr Tehan said Lyndoch Living was accredited until February 21, 2011 and to be re-accredited and continue to receive Commonwealth funding, the service must undergo a comprehensive re-accreditation site audit.

"This re-accreditation site audit will involve a team of quality assessors from the commission attending the service unannounced within the next few months to conduct a comprehensive audit of the service against all 42 requirements of the aged care quality standards," he said.

IN OTHER NEWS:

CORONAVIRUS STORIES:

We have removed our paywall from our stories about the coronavirus. This is a rapidly changing situation and we aim to make sure our readers are as informed as possible. If you would like to support our journalists you can subscribe here.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content: