What are your rights?

A person’s rights do not diminish when he or she moves into a nursing home or hostel, regardless of his or her physical or mental frailty or ability to exercise or fully appreciate his or her rights. Everyone has a right to receive a service that is appropriate to their needs. For example, in scenario 1, John’s wife has the right to be taken to the toilet as needed and within a reasonable amount of time. She should not have to wait unnecessarily, causing distress or discomfort, and compromising her right to be treated with dignity.

No older person should be subjected to any form of abuse, often referred to as ‘elder abuse’, as suspected in scenario 2. Elder abuse can take various forms such as physical, psychological or emotional, sexual or financial abuse. It can also be the result of intentional or unintentional neglect.

There is legislation that protects people in aged care facilities and which imposes obligations on service providers. If the service provider breaches their obligations to an older person, then the person or their representative may complain. There must be an internal process within the facility for dealing with complaints. If the internal complaint resolution is not appropriate or the complaint is not dealt with favourably, you can contact the Aged Care Complaints Scheme.

What to do?

If you have any concerns or complaints regarding the provision of aged care services, you can contact the Aged Care Complaints Scheme, or if there are concerns about Elder Abuse, the Elder Abuse Prevention Unit.

You are also welcome to discuss a potential Aged Rights matter by calling Catherine Cheek (Special Counsel)

Phone: 07 4639 0358
Email: ccheek@cp484.ezyreg.com