At Martindale, as we are always striving to continually improve, we welcome residents' or their representatives suggestions and/or complaints. If Martindale is not living up to your expectations, please tell us.

The Director of Nursing or Clinical Nurse are available from Monday to Friday between the hours of 8.00am and 4.30pm. They maybe contacted in person or by telephoning the nursing home on (08) 8522 1355. Alternatively you can visit our Contact Us webpage for additional contact details.

lynn@martindalecare.com.au

They will be happy to answer any queries and to address any complaint or perceived wrong you may have suffered.

If neither the Director of Nursing or her Deputy are available when you call, if the matter is urgent, please speak to the Registered Nurse in Charge at the time. The Registered Nurse in Charge will contact the Director of Nursing if you require.

Suggestion boxes are situated in the main entrance foyer, the downstairs dayroom and the upstairs foyer. Written liaison can be placed in it, signed or unsigned. We do welcome any suggestion you may have, no matter how trivial it may seem to you.

Other avenues for directing a complaint are:

Resident/Relative meetings

In writing to:

Director of Nursing

Martindale Nursing Home

1 Duffield Street

Gawler East   S.A.   5118

Contacting the Aged Care Advocacy Service

Postal Address:

Aged Rights Advocacy Service (ARAS)

45 Flinders Street

Adelaide SA 5000

 

Telephone:

(08) 8232 5377

1800 802 030 (country toll free)

 

Fax:

(08) 8232 5388

 

E-mail:

aras@senet.com.au

 

Contacting the Aged Care Resolution Scheme. Free call 1800 550 552

Contacting the Administrator 0417 122 333

 

The following was published in March 2002 and is an extract from the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing website.

1. Complaints Resolution Scheme

2. What is the Complaints Resolution Scheme?

3. What can you complain about?

4. Who can complain to the Scheme?

5. How can I make a complaint?

6. How Does the Scheme Work?

7. Who Oversees the Scheme?

 

1. Complaints Resolution Scheme is available to anyone who wishes to make a complaint about a Commonwealth funded aged care service, including:

residents of aged care home;

people receiving community aged care packages or flexible care; or

relatives, guardians or representatives of those receiving care.

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2. What is the Complaints Resolution Scheme?

The Scheme is:

a free service which seeks to resolve complaints about the health, safety and/or welfare of people receiving aged care;

able to refer issues that may be more appropriately dealt with by others (eg. police, nurses and medical registration boards); and

overseen by an independent Commissioner for Complaints.

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3. What can you complain about?

The law sets out what Commonwealth funded aged care facilities must do to receive Government funding. The Scheme can only deal with complaints where a service provider may not be providing the services that they are funded to provide. The Complaints Resolution Scheme can advise whether the Scheme can deal with your complaint or whether it can be more appropriately dealt with elsewhere.

A complaint may be about any aspect of a Commonwealth funded aged care service that should be provided or made available to people receiving care. This may include care, catering, financial matters, hygiene, security, activities, choice, comfort and safety.

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4. Who can complain to the Scheme?

In the first instance it is often best to talk over your problem with the aged care service. If you prefer not to complain directly to a service, for whatever reason, you can complain to the Scheme.

You may complain anonymously or provide your personal contact details. Remaining anonymous however, will limit what can be done to resolve your concern. If you wish, we can keep your identity confidential while dealing with the matter.

If required, the Scheme can provide access to:

an interpreter service;

a TTY (deaflink) phone service; or

a free and confidential advocacy service.

Representatives of advocacy services may:

inform you of your rights and entitlements;

tell you about the help they can provide; and

assist you to voice your concerns by representing you to the scheme.

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5. How can I make a complaint?

You can make a complaint either during business hours, on Free-call 1800 550 552 ; or in writing to:

Aged Care Complaints Resolution Scheme

c/- Department of Health and Aged Care

GPO Box 9848

Adelaide   S.A.   5001   (or in your Capital City)

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6. How Does the Scheme Work?

When you contact the Scheme we will:

listen to and clarify your concerns and expectations to decide if we can deal with your complaint under the scheme;

explain how the scheme works; and

inform you of your right to have the assistance of an advocacy service if your wish.

Where a complaint is accepted, the Scheme will, where appropriate:

help with negotiations between you and the service provider to resolve the complaints;

provide contact details for an advocacy service if you wish; or

engage a professional mediator to help resolve an issue.

If negotiation or mediation cannot resolve your complaint a Complaints Resolution Committee may conduct a hearing and provide a written decision. The decision may outline what must be done to address the issues raised in a complaint.

There are however, some matters the Scheme cannot deal with. For example, we cannot say who should make financial, legal or health decision on behalf of a care recipient. We cannot comment on industrial matters such as waged or employment conditions or provide legal advice on any problems.

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7. Who Oversees the Scheme?

If you have any suggestions of concerns about the Scheme you can raise them with the Scheme Manager in your State or Territory. Alternatively, complaints about the way the Scheme has handled your complaint can be raised directly with the Office of the Commissioner for Complaints on free-call 1800 500 294, during business hours, or by emailing:

If you are still dissatisfied you can also make a complaint to the Office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman by telephone, during business hours, on free-call 1300 362 072.

"The Committee Principles made under the Aged Care Act 1997 contain detailed provisions regarding the operation of the Complaints Resolution Scheme. This brochure contains a summary only of these detailed provisions and should not be relied on as a substitute for legal advice."

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Revised: 4 August 2003