On 19/05/2022 11:09 pm, Daryl wrote:
> On 19/5/2022 8:18 pm, Trevor Wilson wrote:
>> On 18/05/2022 7:56 pm, lindsay wrote:
>>>
>>> I'm getting old... most shit on media that i observe, (television,
>>> radio) doesnt really faze me.... But when you're force fed political
>>> *SHIT*, that we have to pay for, I draw the line.
>>>
>>> In the last 10 mins, I've heard "there's a hole in your budget...) 4
>>> times on prime time tv, , I heard it 4 times in 30 mins on TTFM this
>>> morning before I punched the clock radio in the face and swapped to
>>> digital.... I believe they actually changed it to a more modern track
>>> today, but I havent heard it...thankfully.
>>>
>>> I'm nearly happy, I voted early, so I dont have to stand around in a
>>> 45 minute queue with all the dirty fucks without a mask... I could
>>> lie, and say I dont care who wins... I do.. but find the cunt who
>>> came up with "theres a hole in your budget", and "put him in the
>>> curry" ffs.
>>>
>>>   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0n88tZQc4Q
>>>
>>> put 'em *ALL* in the curry....
>>
>> **Yes. Here's ONE of the reasons I won't vote for those arseholes in
>> the COALition. This is how their decisions have affected my life and
>> that of my loved ones:
>>
>>
>> Several years ago, my mother rapidly developed dementia. Like many, I
>> was bewildered and had no clear idea of what to do. I cared for my
>> mother as much as I could, but I was fortunate to be in contact with
>> the local medical people who dealt with such matters. My mother's
>> geriatrician was amazing. She spent 6 weeks under close observation at
>> my local hospital, where the geriatrician assured me that she would
>> advise where I could best place my mother. I visited her suggested
>> aged care facility. I thought it was a bit ordinary and suggested that
>> I would be happy to pay more to allow my mother to receive better
>> care. The geriatrician assured me that I should not focus on the
>> 'furniture'. Focus on the care and that the place she suggested was
>> very good indeed. Sure enough, the care was excellent. At least one
>> nurse on duty 24/7 (unusual for a small facility) and a high carer to
>> resident ratio. The food was fabulous, prepared and cooked on the
>> premises. I know it's a little thing, but even the ice cream was
>> Street's Blue Ribbon.
>>
>> Anyway, when my sister became too much for my brother-in-law to care
>> for, I suggested that he place her there as well. He did so. All was
>> good for a couple of years. I met the other of the facility (he owned
>> 3 other small aged care places). I admired his AMG63 Benz. He was able
>> to buy one every three or four years. So, despite the facility being
>> low cost, it was profitable.
>>
>> The government oversight mob caused forced him to sell the facility to
>> a much larger organisation.
>
> How can "The government oversight mob" force anyone to sell their business?
> Sounds like there is more to it.

**I did my best to get to the bottom of what happened, but met a stony
silence. The aged care facility my mother and sister were in was hit
with 'sanctions'. The sanctions involved a few, relatively minor issues.
Like other carers, I attended a meeting with the government people, who
explained what the issues were. NONE of the carers (around 60 of us)
expressed any concerns with the facility. We all felt that the facility
provided an excellent level of care. Nonetheless, sanctions were issued.
This, essentially, meant that the facility was unable to accept new
residents for a period of time (6 months, as I recall). IOW, without
income, the place was going to gradually go bankrupt. The owner had no
choice but to sell the facility. One of his other facilities was also
sanctioned, so he just sold all four that he owned.

When the new owner took over, staff were sacked, nurses eliminated, food
quality fell dramatically and complaints rose. And my sister died from
an entirely treatable condition. Many phone calls, emails and official
communications resulted in - nothing. Despite the dramatic fall in care,
the new owners were not sanctioned. One fellow I met there would visit
his wife every single day (such a hero) for the 10 years she had lived
there. He told me that prior to the new owners taking over, he made ONE
complaint in 9 years. Since the new owners had taken over, he had made 7
complaints. And counting. I haven't seen him since my sister left this
planet. I imagine he has made many more.

Now, the cynic in me might suggest that someone in the government is
coddling the larger aged care organisations and deliberately destroying
small owners for some reason. Payola? Maybe. Something more sinister?
Dunno. The system is completely fucked and the COALition has zero
interest in making a difference. Labor has promised to make a difference.

You'd better hope like Hell you don't end up in the system under a
COALition government.

>
>  Within one week, they had:
>>
>> * Sacked 30% of the carer staff.
>> * Eliminated 24/7 nurses.
>> * Freighted all food from a central location, frozen.
>>
>> My mother died a few months later. She was 92 years old, so it was
>> likely natural causes.
>>
>> Last year, I had a 'phone call from my brother-in-law and he told me
>> to meet him at Sutherland hospital in the palliative care wing. My
>> sister (64 years old) was dying. I asked the doctor what was going on.
>> Her doctor explained that my sister had a bed sore (exposed bone)
>> around 160mm across and that there was no possible treatment. She
>> lasted 27 days without food and water. It was horrific. I've never
>> seen nurses in tears, but I saw them in tears when they came into my
>> sister's room.
>>
>> Had the cunts running the aged care facility keep staff levels high
>> and nurses on duty, my sister may have been treated in a timely manner.
>>
>> If this rotten bunch of cunts in the COALition acted like human beings
>> and made certain that ALL aged care facilities had nurses on duty 24/7
>> and a reasonable level of carers, then my sister may well be still
>> alive today.
>>
>> Labor is promising to bring nurses into aged care 24/7 and increase
>> carer levels. The COALition is not. The COALition doesn't give a shit.
>>
>> You better hope you don't end up in aged care under the COALition.
>>
>> Aged care is all about greed. It should not be so. The COALition
>> assists the greedy cunts who run these operations. They do not oversee
>> the aged care system.
>>
>> Don't get me started on in-home care. That is a complete joke. Again:
>> The COALition doesn't give a shit.
>
> Sorry for your loss but do you seriously think that Labor will do any
> better?

**They could not do any worse. They've promised to do better. If they
win government, then they can be held to account at the next election.
We know that in the past 10 years, the COALition has done NOTHING to
improve things.

Here's just one thing they've fucked up on:

Food is a real problem in aged care. Facilities are like private
prisons. They are driven to keep costs low. To do this, they employ as
few people as possible, no nurses and food is the cheapest quality they
can get away with. The fucking morons in the COALition finally realised
that food is a problem and they spent (I can't recall the precise
figure) $10 billion by giving money to aged care facilities and telling
them to improve food. There is no oversight mechanism to ensure that
YOUR money is being spent on decent food. Many of the facility owners
just pocketed the money. That is still going on.

Good economic managers? Not fucking likely. YOUR tax Dollars are being
spent with zero oversight.

> I don't think that a change of Govt will make much difference unless
> they either borrow shit loads of money or take the money from some other
> just as needy area.

**Read my words again. The facility my mother and sister were in, under
the old owners, enjoyed a very high level of care, excellent food and
24/7 nursing. Yet, despite the low cost of the facility, the owner made
enough money to keep him in AMG Mercs and Italian suits. The new owners
wanted more money. They cut nurses, staff and food quality, because
there is no government requirements in those areas. Now, don't get me
wrong: I do not begrudge a company making a profit. I don't begrudge the
previous owner making enough to buy fancy cars, PROVIDED minimum levels
of care are met. The COALition refuses to implement minimum standards
for aged care.

> My mother died in a nursing home Dec 2020 at 91yrs old, she loved where
> she was and had nothing but praise for the place especially the staff,
> same Govt different result.

**Sure. Before we placed my partner's parents into aged care, we visited
27 (twenty seven) facilities, before we found two places that met our
requirements. You were lucky. ALL 27 facilities should have met our
requirements - staffing levels, nurses and food. Due to the fucked
attitudes of the COALition, finding a suitable facility is quite
difficult. And trust me: I KNOW what to look for. Most places are
hopelessly inadequate. I was lucky when I first started this journey, as
my mother's geriatrician guided me. Since then, I've educated myself and
the system is completely fucked. The COALition have had ten years to
address the problems and have done absolutely nothing.

In-home care. IS A JOKE. My partner's parents qualified for level 4
in-home care. The maximum care level available was level 2. The
government makes a certain number of levels 3 and 4 each year. We had no
choice but to place them in an aged care facility.

Here's the kicker/s: In-home care is much cheaper for the taxpayer (the
taxpayer stumps up billions of Dollars for aged care facilities each
year), but, since there is not enough high level in-home care available,
thousands of people are forced to enter aged care facilities. YET THAT
COSTS TAXPAYERS MORE! It is fucking insane. A cynic might suggest that
the government is in cahoots with the aged care industry to funnel as
many people into aged care facilities as possible.

Good economic managers my arse.

You keep voting for these cunts. Anyone who votes for the COALition
deserves to end up in the aged care system. The system is fucked. The
COALition has done nothing. They are promising to do nothing. At least
Labor has stated that they will do something.