What many frail aged Australians can expect if they enter a nursing home - maggots, rotten food and a starvation diet

ABC News, 16 July 2019:

PHOTO: Pictures supplied to ABC investigations as part of a crowdsourcing project on food in aged care. (Supplied)

…..Cutting corners

Earlier, a roundtable of three chefs with almost 100 years of experience in a range of aged care services and kitchens between them suggested an answer to why food standards were so poor.

The commission heard the quality of aged care menus — described by one panellist as "the one thing [residents] get to look forward to" — came down to what the facility paid per resident.

For $16 a day, the residents of the unnamed facility Lindy Twyford manages were served salt-and-pepper squid, fillet mignon, and occasional portions of frozen but high-quality produce.

At the other end of the spectrum, a home spending $7 would rely on secondary cuts of meat and mass-ordered vegetables, some of which would be thrown out at the expense of serving sizes.

"You're having to cut corners, you're having to use frozen foods, you're having to use processed foods just to feed residents," chef Nicholas Hall said.

Mr Hall said food costs at some facilities he formerly worked at were inflated by an ordering system beyond supermarket prices, in one instance by as much as 100 per cent.

Chef Timothy Deverell raised concerns about the lack of training to create texture-modified foods, menus that had no input from residents until they complained, and food served on open-air trolleys that was often cold by the time it reached some residents.

Some homes would place food orders using a "restrictive" system in which a drop-down box offered just a handful of options, Mr Hall said.

Facilities would opt for finger food platters because they were "low-risk", cheap, and didn't require a chef.

Some meals would be repeated up to three or four times a week as providers made a bid to reduce costs.

"They're racing to the bottom to see who can feed for the lowest amount of cost," Mr Hall said

Maggots, rotten food

The commission was also told of one "upmarket residential aged care facility" which had a maggot-infested rubbish store between service trolleys and a nearby fridge containing enough rotten food to fill a trailer.

"[I've seen] reusing food that's already been out, served to residents and come back to the kitchen," Mr Deverell said.

"They use that for texture-modified diets."

Mr Hall said food safety audits were too infrequent and services were given advance notice, meaning extra cleaners could be hired to bring facilities up to scratch.

He said nutritionists failed to properly engage with residents and their needs…..

Coraki still without a local doctor

According to Australian Bureau of Statistics 2016 Census data Coraki and neighbouring Woodburn have a combined population of over 2,000 residents and 499 families.

Half of those residents living in Coraki are over 45 years of age and half of those living in Woodburn are over 42 years of age. While children make up almost 19 per cent of the population of both villages.

Yet the Northern NSW Local Health District cannot even supply a sessional doctor for the health centre at Coraki.

The Northern Star, 20 July 2019, p.7:

Ray Hunt is more frustrated than most about living in a town where the hospital has no doctor.

“If you cut your toe, you can’t go there,” Mr Hunt said.

His late wife Anne used to be the “boss” of the original Coraki Campbell Hospital, before it was closed.

The two-year-old, $4 million Coraki Campbell HealthOne facility looks modern and slick and offers dentistry and dietary appointments but services are limited without a doctor.

Down the road on Thursday, about 10 people gathered to voice their frustration about no sign of a doctor for Coraki.

Eighty-five-year-old Tubby Daley was there. He was born in Coraki. He doesn’t drive so when he needs to see the doctor he has to use limited public transport to get to Casino or Lismore.

Peggy Gooley takes her sick husband regularly to Casino and District Memorial Hospital.

Mrs Gooley failed to understand why they couldn’t have a doctor on rotation, even if the doctor was only in Coraki for two days a week.

A list of 241 names of residents who would use a GP shows the solid customer base in Coraki.

Jennifer Sherwin wore a grim reaper outfit to emphasise how Coraki residents felt about the absence of a doctor.

Ms Sherwin believes the contracts the Northern NSW Local Health District is offering are too restrictive.

Northern NSW Local Health District chief executive Wayne Jones said efforts had been made to recruit a GP for Coraki Campbell HealthOne, however there had been no successful applicants....

Once more the Adani Group demonstrates that it acts in bad faith and cannot be trusted

ABC News, 16 July 2019:

The Queensland Government is prosecuting mining giant Adani for allegedly providing false and misleading information to the Environment Department over land clearing at the site of its proposed Carmichael mine.

The ABC understands the charge under the Environmental Protection Act carries a fine that runs into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

"The prosecution relates to information contained in Adani's 2017/2018 annual return for its Carmichael mine," the department said in a statement to the ABC.

"The annual return requires information about planned and actual disturbance of land at the mine.

"The department alleges that Adani's annual return contained false and misleading information about the disturbance already undertaken at the mine during the annual return period."

Last September, Adani notified the Department of "an administrative paperwork error" in its annual return for the Carmichael mine.

The company admitted that areas "that were disturbed during the final three-and-a-half weeks of the annual return period should have been included".

The prosecution against Adani is listed for mention at the Brisbane Magistrates Court on August 16......

Guess who Clarrie spotted in Yamba?

Paparazzi, eat your hearts out!

Clarrie spotted this bloke, in company, having lunch at a cafe in Yamba on Friday.

Credit for image: abc.net.au

Quote of the Week

“High rents are a major contributor to household insecurity, personal stress and the risk of people, including children, slipping into real poverty and even homelessness. The North Coast rental market disadvantages many people because the competition for decent and affordable housing greatly outstrips supply. The reasons for this crisis are varied, including a general lack of rental stock, many houses in coastal towns becoming holiday rentals and the need to accommodate workers on the road projects, which results in inflated rents that stay that way after the workers move on.”  [St Vincent de Paul regional executive officer Michael Timbrell quoted in The Daily Examiner, 18 July 2019]

Cartoons of the Week

David Rowe

Alan Moir

In the Kalang River forests of New South Wales......

According to the NSW Office of Environment & Heritage the Milky Silkpod is found only within NSW, with scattered populations in the north coast region between Kendall and Woolgoolga.

This plant is currently listed as Vulnerable in NSW and has a Commonwealth conservation status of Endangered. Little is known of its reproductive biology.

However, this means little to the Forestry Corporation of NSW, its board of directors and workers or the Berejiklian Coalition Government.

The Belligen Shire Courier, 16 July 2019:

 OEH-Milky Silkpod profile. Photo Shane Ruming

A volunteer survey team that trekked through the Upper Kalang forests on the weekend found dozens of endangered plants damaged by Forestry Corporation's logging preparations.

The Milky Silkpod (Parsonia dorrigoensis) is listed as 'vulnerable' in NSW and is a nationally endangered plant.

As the name suggests, the forests of the Mid North Coast are a stronghold for it, with most records found between Kendall and Woolgoolga.

In 1999 it was estimated that there were less than 2000 individual plants and the main threat to the survival of this species is low numbers.

Official government advice on how to manage the plant says that "searches for the species should be conducted prior to any logging operations" and known habitat should be "protect[ed] from clearing, high levels of disturbance and development".

"Yet once again Forestry Corporation has shown its disregard for the the environment," survey team member Jonas Bellchambers said.

"Of the 110 confirmed new records identified on the weekend, 39 specimens were found that had already been damaged and are unlikely to recover.

"With more logging and roading imminent it is highly likely to wipe out a good part of this population.

"Like for most species, it's a death of 1000 cuts, and before we know it another plant has blinked out and has gone from our planet completely. We are in the midst of a major extinction event. Here we have a clear example of why. Because government and industry just don't care....