The daughter of an elderly woman murdered at a Newcastle aged care facility has called for better video surveillance in nursing homes. On Wednesday, 29-year-old Garry Steven Davis was found guilty of murdering residents Gwen Fowler, 83, and Ryan Kelly, 80, in 2013. Ms Fowler was injected with a large dose of insulin she did not need. Her eldest daughter Gail said she hoped the tragedy would lead to improved monitoring of elderly patients. "It's a bit like the one where the [Q

COMMUNITY Services Directorate Director-General Michael De’Ath says reports the NDIS in Canberra is at capacity are not true. “It was recently brought to the attention of the Community Services Directorate (CSD) that the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) was advising clients that no new planning meetings will be undertaken in the ACT,” Michael said. “CSD took immediate action to clarify the issue with the Commonwealth. “The primary concern for CSD is to ensure all e

As Dementia Awareness Month comes to a close, a leading aged care provider shares early outcomes from a new model of care showing reduced isolation among residents living with the disease. Earlier this month survey results released by Alzheimer’s Australia showed that people with dementia were almost twice as likely to have high rates of loneliness, highlighting the theme of this year’s Dementia Awareness Month which is “you are not alone”. But the Salvation Army Aged Care Pl

Some of Australia’s largest builders have recently contracted Sync to manufacture 2,369 bathroom pods for various projects in New South Wales and Victoria. Construction giant Watpac have engaged Sync to deliver 2,049 pods for the master-planned Ryde Gardens project in Sydney, NSW. The major project developed by Country Garden and designed by architects Bates Smart will utilise 1,230 bathroom pods, and in a first for Sync, will also include 819 separate laundry pods. By taki

Last week a pair of officers from Springwood Police Station spent a few hours chatting with residents at Freedom Aged Care Tanah Merah village. Organised by the village’s Lifestyle Coordinator, the two officers headed out with their police vehicle for the morning’s visit. The village residents were able to sit in the car and learn about all the gadgets that assist officers in their jobs every day. Police were also on-hand to answer any questions they had throughout the mornin

Industry stakeholders have welcomed the appointment of David Tune AO PSM to head up the Aged Care Legislated Review, calling for financial sustainability as a priority. Posted 9 days ago David Tune The comprehensive review of the aged care system is part of the changes announced to aged care in 2012 and this review will inform ongoing reforms to aged care. Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care, Ken Wyatt AM, MP says Mr Tune is the ideal choice due to his extensive work

Stakeholders have welcomed the government’s long-awaited appointment of a top bureaucrat to lead the review of the Living Longer Living Better reforms, saying they are keen for the process to get started. Yesterday Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care Ken Wyatt announced that David Tune, current chair of the Aged Care Sector Committee, had been appointed to lead the review. David Tune Mr Tune is a former secretary of the Department of Finance and has held senior positi

4,000 wearable cameras were just the start, says Fujitsu architect. How NSW Police's body-worn video system was built The launch of the body-worn video (BWV) system adopted by NSW Police last year was the culmination of months of complex research and development conducted by Fujitsu. “When you’re looking at a solution that has potentially 4,000 cameras, recording all day, you quickly understand how big that video data can get, and therefore the management headache and the cos

There are fresh calls for the government to undertake a review of funding for residential care following confirmation the Commonwealth will examine alternative ways of achieving budgeted savings to the Aged Care Funding Instrument. Last month Australian Ageing Agenda first reported that the government had told industry stakeholders at a National Aged Care Alliance meeting it was open to alternative ways of adjusting ACFI, but that it still had to achieve the same $1.2 billion

Communication between residents and care staff is vital to the success of consumer directed care in residential aged care, write Michelle Campbell, Marita McCabe and Elizabeth Beattie. Australia is striving towards a vision for residential aged care that is both centred on and directed by the consumer. Consumer directed care (CDC) is designed to support older people to make decisions about their care and everyday routines and have a care plan that is, where possible, directed