Aged care providers that fail to provide quality care should be fined, and residents who are neglected should be given compensation, a specialist aged care lawyer has said.
The interim report from the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety – entitled Neglect – has rightly labelled our aged care system as “a sad and shocking system that diminishes Australia as a nation”.
A Hunter woman is urging others to “do their research” before going under the knife after her experience at the hands of the now suspended cosmetic surgeon, Dr Leslie Blackstock.
The return of Liberal/National party governments at both state and federal level in recent elections has undoubtedly set back the cause of abortion reform – an issue that the vast majority of the voting public have consistently supported.
The federal budget did little for older Hunter people, particularly the growing number of vulnerable people needing aged care at home or in facilities.
To mark International Women’s Day (March 8) a Newcastle and Hunter law firm has launched a new, free e-resource to help women navigate the legal system.
The spotlight is on the quality and safety of the aged care system this week, with the first hearing of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety starting this morning in Adelaide.
Monique Smiles, of Catherine Henry Lawyers, shines a spotlight on elder abuse in the Hunter as well as how we can better protect our loved ones who are growing older.
Principal, Catherine Henry, comments on the Federal Government’s latest aged-care policy announcement, which falls significantly short of what’s required to address the crisis in the sector.
Former Newcastle Law Society president Ms Henry, the daughter of former Newcastle City councillor Margaret, said the decision to relocate from Hunter Street to 133 King Street was to accommodate her 27 staff.
June Freeman was a vibrant woman at 87 years young, but just three and a half months in an aged care facility at Newcastle saw her health quickly deteriorate, and ultimately what killed her.
The introduction of an independent tribunal to hear complaints of substandard care and with the power to issue fines and order monetary compensation would help hold the aged care sector to account, said the Australian Lawyers Alliance today at the Aged Care Royal Commission public consultation session in Newcastle.
Special Counsel and Head of the firm’s family law team, Alan Wright, has completed qualifications to be a professional member of the Resolution Institute and is accredited under the National Mediation Accreditation System.
Solicitor Erin Woodward from Catherine Henry Lawyers said the case of Dr Hollenbach and others highlighted the lack of transparency about doctors’ histories and “problems with protections available for the public”.
Hunter New England Health has paid out more than $69 million in taxpayer funds for medical mistakes in the past two years, but the local health district will not provide details of the claims, despite having done so in the past.
New research by ME Bank suggests that 74 per cent of Australians believe prenuptial agreements are fair and have merit; however, only 18 per cent of married couples have one — despite the risks, particularly for business owners.
Hunter-based law firm, Catherine Henry Lawyers, is one of the first organisations in Australia to use a new, first of its kind, tool-kit designed to help the nation’s lawyers better identify and combat the growing problem of elder abuse.
Australia is “at least” 10 years behind the US when it comes to protecting and upholding the rights of vulnerable senior citizens, but the Newcastle community is banding together to take an interdisciplinary approach to resolve the problems, Kim Boettcher says.
Catherine Henry fears clinical standards are worsening, with mandated staff-to-patient ratios the only way to tackle the “woefully inadequate staffing arrangements” operating within the industry.
The principal of a law firm specialising in medical law, Catherine Henry, said she first raised the issue a decade ago in a legal journal after seeing clients whose cancers had been mismanaged.
What should have been a medical negligence case then escalated into a “landmark case about the legal status of abortion”, in which the Catholic Church intervened.
Doctors could easily decide that it’s just not worth the risk to carry out abortions at all, given the ever-present possibility that they could be charged with a criminal offence.
Managers and boards of residential aged care facilities should be held personally accountable when standards are not met, a leading Hunter legal expert on aged care issues has told a royal commission.
The Aged Care Act 1997 needs to be rewritten to improve safety and quality in aged care says the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA) ahead of the release of the preliminary report of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety.
Catherine Henry Lawyers is expanding its award-winning health law service to better serve people in the Hunter and other parts of regional NSW to seek justice or compensation from rogue doctors and other instances of poor health care.
The recently released Identifying & Acting on Elder Abuse: A Toolkit for Legal Practitioners covers lawyers’ ethical responsibilities which includes duties of confidentiality & discusses screening techniques & checklists to help practitioners in raising the topic with their older clients.
Catherine Henry Lawyers is committed to raising awareness of this issue and assisting clients at risk of experiencing abuse.
Hunter Headline reports: although Principal, Catherine Henry has built a name locally in the legal industry for much longer than a decade, Catherine Henry Lawyers has celebrated a significant milestone of 10 years serving people in Newcastle and regional NSW.
Newcastle specialist health and elder care lawyer Catherine Henry says the budget had not tackled key issues for aged care residents, leaving Australians in aged care facilities unable received appropriate care
A leading Newcastle lawyer has urged the federal government to “be brave” and adopt the recommendations of a landmark report into the financial and physical abuse of the elderly.
Newcastle health litigation solicitor Catherine Henry said she had been instructed by two of the families to investigate the viability of negligence claims against the aged care facility.
Solicitor Catherine Henry says the alleged recent poisoning deaths of two residents at the Summitcare nursing home has highlighted her concerns about the ineffective complaints system.
