Posted March 29, 2019 13:49:41

A State Government aged care home in South Australia’s Mid North region has been sanctioned after the death of a resident following a fire.

Key points:

  • The audit found the Balaklava nursing home failed 19 of 44 accreditation outcomes
  • Health Minister Stephen Wade said the failures are “not like Oakden”
  • The resident’s death is being investigated by the coroner

A Federal Government Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission (ACQSC) audit of the Ira Parker Nursing Home at Balaklava, almost 100 kilometres north of Adelaide, found it failed in 19 of 44 accreditation outcomes — including building safety, patient pain management and nutrition.

The Federal Department of Health imposed two sanctions on the home, including restricting the payment of the Commonwealth aged care subsidy for new residents and revoking the home’s aged care provider status unless evidence of improvement is made within six months.

The sanctions came into effect on March 21 and could be in place until September 2019, or until the issues have been rectified.

The home, which is part of the Balaklava Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital, will remain open in the meantime.

The incident comes one month after the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety began hearings in Adelaide.

Families of home’s residents informed of the findings

Country Health SA interim chief executive officer Rebecca Graham said her organisation was disappointed by the results of the audit, but welcomed the Commonwealth’s scrutiny to “ensure that we are providing the best possible service”.

The audit’s results have been given to residents and the families of residents at the 22-bed facility.

“As part of the review, the ACQSC identified that we need to improve documentation and adherence to procedures around a range of care outcomes, including our residents’ pain and wound management and nutrition,” Ms Graham said.

“They also found some management systems and staff development needed to be reviewed to ensure our staff have the skills to perform their roles effectively.

“The ACQSC also highlighted that our physical environment requires several improvements to make it as safe as possible for our residents.

“We are acting immediately to improve these areas in addition to what we were already doing to improve the quality of care at Ira Parker Nursing Home, including employing additional, experienced staff to support improved care.”

Health Minister said the home was ‘not like Oakden’

South Australian Health Minister Stephen Wade told ABC Radio Adelaide’s Ali Clarke that the home, which is operated by the State Government, had been sanctioned since March 21, and will not be taking new residents for now.

“Staff and residents were advised yesterday … of course, they were disappointed,” he said.

Mr Wade also claimed that the failures were not like those found at the Oakden Older Persons Mental Health facility.

“I need to stress that it’s not like Oakden,” he said.

“Oakden revealed systematic failures in the care and treatment of patients. What this shows is that 19 out of 44 standards were not met.”

An independent, external clinical audit of all of Country Health SA’s aged care facilities has been underway since October 2018.

The ABC understands the fire occurred last month and the resident’s death is being investigated by the coroner.