Bracks Government hits sick & elderly

Last week the Victorian Government robbed more than 10,000 
frail, elderly, chronically and terminally ill aged care 
residents of nursing care, secretly changing its drugs and 
poisons regulations to make Victorian hostels exempt from the 
laws that require all other health facilities to ensure that 
dangerous medications are administered only by a registered 
nurse.

This means elderly hostel residents suffering from a complex 
combination of chronic and terminal illnesses and diseases
will be able to receive their care and medications from
people with no qualifications.

A recent Federal Court ruling recognised that many Victorian aged 
care hostel residents suffer from the same complex chronic 
illnesses as nursing home residents and require nursing care. The 
court recognised that aged care hostels should be considered a 
"health service" which require that only registered nurses 
administer dangerous medications.

Victorian nurses are demanding the Bracks Government guarantee 
the safe and proper level of care for elderly Victorians 
regardless of whether they live in a hostel or a nursing home.

In 1997 the Government determined that nursing homes were a 
health service and governed by the drugs and poisons regulations 
because they cared for high care residents, and that hostels were 
exempt because they solely cared for low care residents.

"Victorian baby boomers better not have high hopes about the 
standard of aged care they expect to receive when they can't live 
at home any more because the Bracks Government is about to lower 
the bar on the very people who can't lobby for change", warned 
Australian Nursing Federation (ANF) State Branch Secretary Lisa 
Fitzpatrick.

"A lot has changed over the last seven years and hostels now also 
care for elderly residents with a complex range of illnesses 
including dementia, mental illness, heart conditions, kidney 
failure, incontinence, cancer, asthma, arthritis, diabetes, 
Parkinson's disease and strokes.

"The government's changes will mean a nursing home resident, with 
one or a combination of these conditions, will receive medication 
and drugs from a registered nurse, but the same resident living 
in a hostel will receive the same dangerous medications such as 
insulin, morphine, pethidine, digoxin from someone with no 
qualifications.

"A resident with a combination of these conditions could need up 
to 11 tablets a day. These are dangerous medications and often 
require an assessment of a resident's vital signs before they are 
given — a mistake or a missed vital sign can be fatal.

"The Federal Court has recognised that high care residents live 
in hostels, but the State Government is still refusing to 
recognise that high care hostel residents need the same nursing 
care as high care nursing home residents."

The ANF accuses the government of abandoning its duty of care to 
thousands of elderly residents with complex chronic and terminal 
illnesses and says Victorian nurses will not stand by, "and watch 
it happen and neither will the voting community".

The Bracks Government's plan to make it legal for unqualified 
staff to give residents like Martha Brown their medications is 
dangerous and puts the lives of the Victorian elderly at risk:87-
year-old Martha Brown lives in a Victorian aged care hostel. 
Martha has dementia, arthritis, diabetes and she has suffered 
from two strokes in the past six months. She requires 11 tablets 
and four insulin injections every day. Martha's medical and 
health conditions are typical of a high care resident living in a 
Victorian aged care hostel or nursing home.

Do you think Martha should be cared for by a registered nurse? 
The Bracks Government doesn't think so.