NEWS-HR

A Chief Clinical Advisor will be appointed to assist the new aged care watchdog from next year, following strong advocacy from the AMA. The Federal Government amended its Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission Bill 2018 to formally enshrine the position of Chief Clinical Advisor to assist the new Commissioner. The Bill passed Parliament yesterday. In addition, the AMA President, Dr Tony Bartone, said that the Department of Health has confirmed that the Chief Clinical Advisor will be a doctor. “The Carnell-Paterson Review, which was initiated in response to the shocking failures at the Oakden facility in South Australia, recommended establishing an independent aged care Commission to centralise regulation,” Dr Bartone said. “The AMA has continuously called for the establishment of a Commission that provides a clear, well-communicated governance hierarchy, which brings leadership and accountability to the aged care system. “In our Position Statement on Resourcing Aged Care, in our submission to the Inquiry into the Bill, and during our public evidence to the Inquiry, the AMA consistently argued that having a Chief Clinical Advisor is an absolute must for the Commission.

A 90-year-old man found dead in his bed at a South Coast nursing home was severely beaten with a walking stick, The Daily Telegraph can reveal. It is understood another resident, aged 77, was found wandering in the home “dazed and confused” with blood dripping from his clothes and walking stick after the attack on Tuesday night. Both the victim, David Phillips, and the other man involved were residents of the high-dependency support unit of the IRT Woonona Aged Care Home. Police have refused to say if charges would be laid, saying it would depend on what investigators were able to piece together about the ­alleged attack. Staff and residents of the home were being interviewed, and CCTV footage is being examined as part of the investigation. The $325,000-a-year care home came under fire six years ago when elderly patient Mervyn Campbell, 84, was found dead in his bed after being repeatedly bashed with a wedged-shaped wooden doorstop. It is understood the latest attack happened at an isolated location in the home and lasted several minutes. Mr Phillips suffered severe injuries to the head and body, and was unable to be resuscitated. In a statement IRT said the attack was “very sad”.

Swinburne’s Mish Eastman, Executive Director Pathways and Vocational Education (PAVE) Operations has been appointed to the Aged Services Industry Reference Committee (IRC) to help shape Australia’s future aged services workforce.

The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation and Women’s Alcohol and Drug Advisory Centre Incorporated (WADAC) have a s.739 (Application to deal with a dispute) before Fair Work Commissioner Johns in his Melbourne chambers today.

A Sch. 3, Item 15 (Application by agreement to terminate collective agreement-based transitional instrument) from Community Lifestyle Agency Inc for the Community Lifestyle Agency Inc., – AWU – Certified Agreement [CA616 of 2004] has been agreed by Fair Work Commissioner Booth in Brisbane on 21 November 2018.

Safe Places for Children will defend an unfair dismissal claim (s.394) lodged with Fair Work Commissioner Johns in Melbourne (Davy).

A Perth lawyer has been sentenced to seven-and-a-half years jail for stealing almost $2 million from her clients, including an elderly woman in a nursing home and the beneficiaries of a deceased estate. Mother-of-three Helen Marie Tolson, 45, took the $1.96 million from trust accounts between September 2013 and August 2017, and used it to bolster her husband’s business, pay off personal debts and buy two new cars.

The Health Services Union and Barwon Health are arguing a s.739 (Application to deal with a dispute) int he jurisdiction of Commissioner Cribb in Conference Room E – Level 6 and Conference Room F – Level 6 in Melbourne at 2.30pm