IRT Dalmeny. Photo: IRT website Ian Campbell of About Regional reports that IRT Group CEO, Patrick Reid has apologised to residents and family members of IRT Dalmeny for the centre’s failure to meet accreditation standards.
“I’d like to publicly apologise to our residents and families, and to the community that we have not met their expectations of quality care, and assure them that we are working hard to turn things around at IRT Dalmeny as soon as possible,” Mr Reid says in a frank statement published to the IRT website.
“As a community-owned not for profit organisation, our sole mission is to improve the lives of older Australians. In this instance, we have failed to live up to community expectations, and indeed our own expectations. We are extremely disappointed this has occurred and are doing everything we can to remedy the situation as quickly as possible.”
Located near Narooma, IRT Dalmeny cares for around 77 older Australians in a residential aged care setting.
After assessing the IRT Dalmeny Aged Care Centre earlier this month, the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission found a number of areas where the aged care centre did not meet the accreditation standards. As a result, the Department of Health has placed a sanction on the centre to ensure it makes the required improvements over the next six months.
“As soon as we became aware of the issues at IRT Dalmeny, we greatly strengthened our Continuous Improvement Plan in consultation with the Quality Commission and have already made solid progress towards the implementation of this plan,” Mr Reid says.
Under the terms of the sanction, the IRT Dalmeny Aged Care Centre will not be admitting new residents, will provide additional training to employees and has appointed a Clinical Advisor and an Administrator to oversee the implementation of the Plan for Continuous Improvement.
“We held a resident and family meeting today (February 28) to explain the situation and give residents and family members an opportunity to ask questions and raise any concerns. We have also met with employees, encouraging them to continue their focus on providing excellent person-centred care for all our residents during this period of increased pressure.
“We are confident we can complete the improvement plan within the required timeframe and return to full accreditation,” Mr Reid says.
The news comes as hearings continue at the Aged Care Royal Commission.
Families or friends with any concerns can contact the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission on 1800 951 822. ***** This article was first published by About Regional
