Kineo Courses is excited to announce that the new Reporting Abuse and Serious Incidents in Home and Community Aged Care Services course is available!

It’s currently believed that one in twenty older people in Australia may be experiencing abuse of one kind or another. Older people are particularly vulnerable to abusive situations due to several reasons, including smaller social networks, reduced access to information, an increased risk of cognitive impairment – or being perceived as cognitively impaired – and a loss of economic power. Staff members have an obligation to help ensure that abuse and serious incidents are reported, documented - and prevented. While it’s far from pleasant, the words ‘elder abuse’ might lead you to think that all such abuse is physical. However, elder abuse is also frequently financial abuse, emotional abuse, or even neglect of an older person. Older people who are suffering abuse are at a much higher risk of death or injury.

Elder abuse undermines the dignity and autonomy of aged care consumers. Abuse and living in fear can make it difficult for consumers to make choices about their own lives, to pursue what they value and to live a life that is meaningful to them. Consumers should be able to live in an environment where they are free of exploitation and physical or mental abuse. They should be treated fairly regardless of their age, gender, background, disability or other status and be valued as unique individuals with their own wishes, needs and preferences.

The Serious Incident Response Scheme (SIRS) was introduced into residential aged care in 2021 and in 2022 for in-home services with the aim of reducing abuse and neglect in Australian Government subsidised aged care. 

Education on elder abuse and SIRS helps staff understand their obligations for each work context and ultimately supports consumers to be treated with the dignity and respect they deserve. Contextualised learning is ideal because it provides information relevant to the learner’s work environment, helps learners develop skills and knowledge they need to do their job well in residential and in-home aged care, enhances learner engagement through examples and scenarios they can relate to and helps learners comprehend, apply and retain knowledge and skills pertinent to their workplace.

Kineo Courses’ new Reporting Abuse and Serious Incidents in Home and Community Aged Care Services course provides learners with an understanding of:

• background to and the definitions and prevalence of the abuse of older people in Australia
• common types of abuse experienced by older people
• requirements for the reporting of abuse and serious incidents
• barriers to staff reporting, and
• actions to take in the event of abuse or serious incidents.

This course features high-quality imagery, engaging animations, interactive activities and information that focusses on how learners can identify, report and respond to the abuse of older people who are in a care relationship.

This course has been reviewed by a recognised subject matter expert in this space; Melissa Sinfield.

Unit ID: 11526