LIMINAL

Do we really need a royal commission to tell us what’s wrong with aged care? From what I am told, in Canberra we know the problems and they are not extensive. Pockets could be better of course, including some of the reputable facilities run by churches. And there is at least one common complaint: that too many staff don’t speak English well. It can be a barrier to developing good relationships with residents. The other challenge, wherever you live, is the need to keep an eye on the centre to make sure its service doesn’t worsen. If the centre loses a couple of key people or can't attract staff (which happens a lot) things can go off the rails quickly. Four out of every ten people in aged care are not visited for an entire year, according to the aged care minister Ken Wyatt. That’s shocking. Even where residents have no relatives or friends who can visit, the rest of us should be able to find a way to do it. Most of the complaints made to ABC’s Four Corners program came