PM says code of conduct for aged care visitations on its way – but peaks and organisations take out full-page newspaper ads to lobby Govt

Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced on Wednesday that an industry code of conduct would be on its way by the end of the week, but there are signs that the Government and the sector are still failing to reach consensus over visitor restrictions and extra COVID-19 funding. Five of the major aged care peaks and groups took out full-page ads in yesterday’s issues of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age to defend the sector’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, saying their members’ response has been directed by the National Cabinet’s guidance on visitor restrictions. The groups – ACSA, Anglicare Australia, BaptistCare Australia, LASA and UnitingCare Australia – state: “These decisions were not taken lightly and were made with the sole intent of saving lives. We note the majority of residents and their families are supportive of the measures put in place to protect them.” To continue to provide the “best protections”, they ask for two measures emphasised in bold:

1. We need a national approach for visits in aged care homes that respects the need for strong, infection control balanced with the needs of our resident for social and emotional supports provided by their families and friends.
2. To implement this, we need the resources outlined in the aged care rescue package that the sector has been calling for over recent weeks.

“We call on the government and the community to join us as we do all we can to continue to keep older Australians in our care safe from the coronavirus,” they underline. It’s a powerful message. However, the ad also highlights that two of the groups that were part of the original call for the $1.5 billion rescue package to support the sector over the next six months of the pandemic are absent – the Aged Care Guild and Catholic Health Australia. We asked the Guild why they were not part of the advertising campaign. Acting CEO Nicholas Brown told us: “A lot has happened in the last couple of days, and in response to broader and ongoing conversations with Government, the Guild decided this channel of communication was not needed.” “Noting the Guild’s involvement in the development of the new industry code of conduct for supporting visitations to aged care facilities, which we look forward to progressing with the sector in collaboration with COTA and ACSA.” “Aged care providers and their staff have done an excellent job keeping COVID-19 out of their homes during this challenging time and we sincerely appreciate their work.” You must ask the question: is the sector presenting a united voice during this challenging time?