Painaustralia has provided input to the Senate Community Affairs References Committee Inquiry into the Effectiveness of the Aged Care Quality Assessment and Accreditation Framework. The consequences of untreated pain not only impact the individual residents, but create greater distress to their families and care responsibility for aged care staff. Chronic pain is a common condition among residents of aged care facilities, and effective pain management should be a core responsibility of all providers. Unfortunately, evidence suggests many residents with pain are poorly treated or under-treated.
In responding to the Inquiry, Painaustralia makes several recommendations:
- ensuring acute and chronic pain is recognised as a key issue in addressing mistreatment in residential aged care;
- national pain programs are developed and implemented in residential and community aged care facilities for staff, residents and family, friends or representatives;
- access to best practice pain management that adopts a multidisciplinary approach is further considered to inform policy development; and
- consumer protections for residents to help them exercise their choice and their rights in care.
To read our submission click here.