Profile of people in long-stay residential aged care in the Riverina region of NSW 


Professor Paul Finucane, Dr Stephanie Armstrong 

Profile

With an elderly population profile that is fourteen years ahead of national Australia, the Riverina region of NSW has the capacity to provide particular insights into the future of Aged Care nationally. We visited a total of 21 facilities over a 3-month period, recorded demographic data on residents, reviewed their medical records, discussed their dependency levels with qualified staff and reviewed their medication charts. The 338 long-term residents across facilities had a mean age of 85.1; 64% were identified as having cognitive impairment; 45% had behavioural disturbance; 87% had impaired mobility and 67% were a falls risk. The average number of medications being prescribed per resident across all facilities was 10.5. 42% of residents were being prescribed opioid medication, 28% benzodiazepines and 25% anti-psychotics. This study provides a snapshot of the people who reside in long-stay in Aged Care facilities in the Riverina Region. Among this highly dependent population, polypharmacy is the norm and the use of opioids, benzodiazepines and antipsychotic medications is particularly prevalent.