The Serious Incident Response Scheme (SIRS) is still generating alarmingly high case numbers for neglect, unreasonable use of force, and unlawful and inappropriate sexual conduct in residential aged care, according to the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission’s recent Sector Performance Report.
Reports of unreasonable use of force have continued to rise. However, incidents of neglect and unlawful and inappropriate sexual conduct have declined slightly.
For the December quarter, SIRS revealed there were more than 7,500 incidents of unreasonable use of force, more than 1,800 incidents of neglect, and 565 incidents of unlawful or inappropriate sexual contact.
The SIRS has required residential aged care providers to report eight types of incidents since 1 April 2021.
The SIRS was expanded to include home care in December 2022 so expect to see these figures included in the next Sector Performance Report.
As we went to press, the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission released a report they have prepared to help providers prevent and respond to unreasonable use of force in residential aged care homes. The report uses deidentified case studies as learning tools. We will write more next week.
