Residential aged care: there is no single optimal model

The needs of aged care residents are as diverse as when they were younger

Notwithstanding the remarkable and unique achievement of the innovative, complex and detailed investigation by Dyer and colleagues,1 we should examine the findings and their implications carefully. The study is timely, as Australia’s aged care sector is under intense scrutiny, with major concerns about quality of care and governance.2-5 The Oakden case in Adelaide2 has recently attracted particular scrutiny, but it is only one of many major episodes of abuse in Australian residential aged care homes.4,5