More desperate stories from middle class hell.
Try being poor. Nursing homes are the least of their worries!

A private industry apologists approach,I believe, with the usual obfuscating disingenuous claims of complexity? WRONG!

The four corners/fairfax expose, is likely to be the tip of a massive iceberg of price gouging/corrupt behavior, marked by a level of calloused indifference as to beggar belief; that reportedly has beset this shameful INDUSTRY/MARKET/SHAM!

But only because some rather remarkable "right wing" conservative ideologues, have allowed political dogma and insane ideology to replace, not only reason and logic, but every trace of Christian compassion as well! JAWOHL MEIN HERR!

And therefore, have not only made this "INDUSTRY" into a highly profitable, inhumane ("human meat) MARKET! But invited, tax avoiding, asset stripping, profit repatriation, foreigners, as head honchos/principle investors!?

These old, frail, defenceless and now very vulnerable Aussie old folk sacrificed, without protest or exception to build the first world nation/economy, we inherited!

And this is how we thank them for the billions in squandered taxes and squandered opportunity, as we sell our heritage and their twilight years, "FREEDOM"!

Diabolically despicable, detestable, unconscionable, inexcusable behavior of the first water! And words fail me!

That no amount of high price spin or doctoring can ever hope to fix!

The operators need to be stripped of their licence to operate and their australian assets frozen until these matters are fully resolved in the affirmative! Our/your mums and dads deserve no less!

Failure to respond should see this become a major election issue and a call for widespread de-privatisation of essential services/human rights to universal dignity, even in their dotage!

Everyone has a mum and dad; and will grow old themselves one day!
Alan B.

The situation portrayed on 4 Corners must be Sydney-centric; it could not occur in SA under the Retirement Villages Act. There seems to be some confusion between retirement villages and nursing homes, too. To live in a retirement village in SA you need to be independent. There is no question of being 'looked after' by the operator. And, as residents buy a licence-to-occupy (no freehold), any maintenance is the responsibility of the operator, not the residents. Operators are legally obliged to pay out the families of ex-residents within 12 months.

Lazy, disinterested politicians, not private enterprise, seems to be the problem with what AVEO is getting away with in NSW.

I've got news for you folks. It's not only in NSW.
It's happening right here in Victoria where not only
AVEO has a lot to answer, as the 4 corners program
clearly showed but there's another contender by the
name of ALLITY that should be investigated.

And I'm
speaking from personal experience here. My mother was
in a retirement village for over a decade under another
management when ALLITY took over the management of the
facility. Since then over the past couple of years they
managed to push many of the residents out, including
my mother from whom they purchased her unit at a
fraction of the cost that she'd paid.

Mum is now in a nursing home.
We ended up having to help her financially. In the
meantime ALLITY sold my mother's unit for more than
triple the price. I won't go into any further details
but what 4 corners showed in its program - is merely the
tip of the iceberg. What these companies are getting away
with is disgraceful and very few of our elderly can afford
to fight back.

We need a government investigation into our aged care
facilities that is for sure. Laws need to be changed
to protect the most vulnerable in our society.

Foxy

The Capitalist ripp-off. You may call them Capitalist pigs, but your too polite!
The middle class are easy picking in this country. Their biggest enemy after themselves is the Government.
Be assured though, the transplanting with Chinese, of the middle class is well underway.

Dear DD,

There must be a better way for this country to provide
a safe secure environment for our elderly when they are
the most vulnerable in their old age. Mum and dad worked
hard all of their lives, paid taxes, and raised a family.
Dad passed away many years ago. Mum was left on her own,
but she still managed.

She did not deserve to get the
treatment that she did from a large organisation that
supposedly was there for her benefit. It wasn't. It was
there for her money. And she's not the only one that was
taken advantage of. That has to change and our governments
need to look into aged care and what is really happening.
So many organisations are reaping in billions at the
expense of the elderly. This needs to be put up for
investigation prior to the next election. We'll all be old
one day - currently this is affecting our parents - tomorrow
it will be us and our children and grandchildren in the years
ahead. We can't just continue to ignore this.

For interest, I checked the recent report of the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) to find positive findings on the delivery of culturally appropriate services to indigenous aged. Report,

http://www.anao.gov.au/work/performance-audit/indigenous-aged-care

I guess that the media outlets are not interested in good outcomes by government.

However, over the years the ANAO has reported negative findings concerning aged care provision affecting the 'mainstream' population. Such as frail bed-ridden not being turned or washed and developing pressure point sores and ulcers.

What concerns me especially is the persistent, unfair pressure on older people to sell and move out of the homes they have lived in for many years and where they raised their family and are accustomed to facilities, doctors, shops and so on.

There is overwhelming independent research evidence that older people are much more cheaply supported and live better lives, where they are encouraged, or should that now be 'allowed'? :( to continue living as life as independently as possible in their existing home. Supply targeted services at their request is the solution.

However, greedy entrepreneurs and selfish young employed people want their land and politicians, ever lurking where money is flowing, are putting pressure on old people as well. For example, through land rates that are increased in line with inflation (Why so?), diminished rebates for aged and as a general rule, user pays for everything.

Politicians and others who should know better are using wedge politics to divide and conquer.

Recently on the Gold Coast there was a suicide pact of three older women. While not wanting to enter into any debate about euthanasia/suicide, one wonders what influence Australia's (read as successive federal governments') rather harsh, uncaring social attitudes to aged and lack of interest in setting new directions for older people had on that.

Overseas countries are setting about challenging ageism and finding value in older citizens. There is a need for tailored strategies.

But the Australian Parliament has been preoccupied with gay marriage and for years! What the hell are voters thinking of, electing these clowns on both sides of the Parliament?

Foxy.

Unless people in this country actually stop winging and become proactive, the endless plunder of our society by Capitalist pigs will not stop.

We are close on the heels of Chilea. It's as if Chilea is the litmus model of rampant capitalism followed by Australia, but pulled up short of the point of public protest.

The view here is much more sinister. The official alterations to our demography by Chinese immigration is assuring capatlist innovations are painless to the winners.

Dear DD,

I guess many people don't even think about the problems
involved with things like aged care - because it does not
affect them - yet.

It will be a different story however when their turn
comes around, either for a relative or themselves.
But then it will be too late. The time for action is now.
But you're right, how do we get people to be pro-active?
Perhaps more publicity on what really goes on in aged
care facilities - along the lines of the 4 Corners program
could help. At least programs like that may warn future
buyers of what to look out for when selecting a facility.

There is a very simple solution to this problem;
Strata Title !

I live in a retirement village that is strata title.
The legal owner is the body corporate who are elected by the residents.
We own our unit and when we purchased it 10% of the price was a loan
to the body corporate. This loan depreciates by 10% a year so if you
leave before 10 years you get the remainder.
Also on sale, either by the manager's sales officer, or by your own
selected agent.
The manager's commission is higher but there are no advertising charges.
25% of the capital gain goes to the corporate body.
Nothing is paid if there is a capital loss.

The manager is employed by the corporate body.
They employ the groundsmen who do the gardening and maintenance around the village.
The quarterly body corporate fee is not cheap
Most villages are leased for 99 years.
One of the big problems with leased licence villages is the departure fee.
In one case we looked at the departure fee would have been $250,000
and if one had to go into a nursing home there may not have been
enough to pay for the nursing home and buy a home unit somewhere.

We have been happy here and have made a lot of friends.
There is from time to time disputes with the corporate body but this
is just like in any organisation.
There is a swimming pool, a croquet court and a bowling green.
There is also a group that play table tennis.

All in all we made a good choice.

A friend of mine was in a leased village that we looked at and he
was very happy there. We almost bought in on his recommendation but
the departure fee turned us off.
So they are not all nightmares to live in.