Prevention is critical in aged care.

Aged care has been in the news frequently this year, often not in the most positive light. Reports of facilities failing to provide basic care have hit the media regularly. In September, the Dominion Post reported incidents of neglect, preventing the elderly receiving appropriate care.1 Conflicting opinions on whether the number of complaints is increasing or not, only add to the confusion about the actual standard of care in the aged-care sector.2 The Government, in an attempt to ensure appropriate care is provided, introduced regular audits of all aged-care facilities. Whether or not these audits result in improved care is again argued by the New Zealand Aged Care Association.3 In addition, the interRAI long-term care facilities assessment programme is being rolled out nationally. (See pp14-16 – Ed.) This will involve a twice-yearly assessment of all residents living in aged-care facilities. These measures are all intended to ensure our institutionalised elderly receive the care they need. The question remains – do the incidents reported in the media paint a true picture of how our society cares for those who live in aged-care facilities? One aspect of providing quality aged care is that a facility can prevent harm to residents and provide them with a safe place to live. Residents in aged care are often no longer physically and/or mentally able to do this for themselves. Preventing residents from having falls, from developing a pressure injury, from becoming malnourished or incontinent are internationally accepted indicators of quality care.4 Currently, there is no evidence of the prevalence and incidence of these conditions in New Zealand’s aged-care facilities, as there is very little data available. To gather more information on how successfully aged-care facilities prevent their residents from falls, pressure injuries, malnourishment and incontinence, a survey was conducted, over one day, in 16 aged-care facilities in the lower North Island in 2011.