Clinical

Clinical governance in aged care isn’t just for managers or clinicians. Under the strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards and the new Act, care partners are central to safety, risk management, and participant outcomes.

Australia’s first clinical trial of psychedelic-assisted therapy has shown promising results for people living with advanced, life-threatening illness. Conducted at St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne, the psilocybin-assisted therapy reduced anxiety and depression, while improving quality of life and spiritual wellbeing for palliative patients.

Highly trained front-line staff may be best positioned to provide feedback for improvements to systemic oral care. In navigating routine high-quality oral health in care plans, humility to uncomfortable feedback is worthwhile for all providers.

Global experts call for dementia care beyond medication, focusing on well-being, inclusion and leadership to transform aged care.

When Theresa Flavin first stepped into advocacy for dementia and aged care, she noticed a pattern that was as troubling as it was familiar. “In research, older people and those with dementia were kept at arm’s length,” she recalls. “It felt like the system was built around us, not for us.” Diagnosed with younger onset […]

As another coronial report into a wound care fatality shows, data literacy in wound prevention and management remains a pressing need in aged care. To address this, eight providers have come together under a sector-wide innovation grant to develop and embed data capability among staff, using routinely collected data to strengthen pressure injury and wound […]

More than three years after an 87-year-old woman passed away, a coroner has ruled that both systemic and human error contributed to her death. A Tasmanian aged care home failed to adequately treat a pressure wound that had become infected. In February 2022, the woman died at Hobart’s Fairway Rise facility after her sacral wound […]

Aged care CEO slams the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission, calling out weak regulation, double standards, and risks to residents’ safety.

Pressure injuries affect more than 400,000 Australians each year, costing lives, dignity, and billions in care. Despite being largely preventable, outdated methods keep the problem alive. This article explores why prevention must replace reaction, and how smart technology like LenexaCARE® is helping providers achieve zero injuries.

Regularly reviewing care plans for showering could help protect residents’ dignity and wellbeing, new research suggests. A study examining the link between shame and self-harm highlights the need for providers to give residents space to express privacy preferences, particularly during vulnerable moments like showering. The findings reinforce the importance of ongoing staff training, regular care plan reviews, and careful communication to reduce shame, support mental health, and strengthen dignity in care.