Aged Care Investigations
Health Sector Investigation Experts
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Alex Tawfiq
14 years as the Principal Investigation Manager and Senior Manager Investigations for South Eastern Sydney and Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health Districts.
Solicitor (non-practicing)
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Amanda Hadley
14 years a Senior Investigation Officer and Investigation Manager with the Health Care Complaints Commission
1 year as Senior External Relations Officer with the NSW Ministry of Health
We conduct investigations in aged care.
Under the Serious Incident Response Scheme (SIRS) requires aged care providers to identify, record, manage, resolve, and report all serious incidents to the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission (Commission) that occur, or are alleged or suspected to have happened, in a residential aged care service in one of the following categories:
Unreasonable use of force – for example, hitting, pushing, shoving, or rough handling a consumer
Unlawful sexual contact or inappropriate sexual conduct – such as sexual threats against a consumer, stalking, or sexual activities without consumer consent
Neglect of a consumer – for example, withholding personal care, untreated wounds, or insufficient assistance during meals
Psychological or emotional abuse – such as yelling, name calling, ignoring a consumer, threatening gestures, or refusing a consumer access to care or services as a means of punishment
Unexpected death – where reasonable steps were not taken by the provider to prevent the death, the death is the result of care or services provided by the provider or a failure by the provider to provide care and services
Stealing or financial coercion by a staff member – for example, if a staff member coerces a consumer to change their will to their advantage, or steals valuables from the consumer
Inappropriate use of restrictive practices – where it is used in relation to a consumer in circumstances such as:
where a restrictive practice is used without prior consent or without notifying the consumer’s representative as soon as practicable
where a restrictive practice is used in a non-emergency situation, or
when a provider issues a drug to a consumer to influence their behaviour as a form of restrictive practice
Unexplained absence from care – where the consumer is absent from the service without explanation and there are reasonable grounds to report the absence to the police.
Our investigators all have extensive experience in conducting investigations in the health sector so we are particularly adept at understanding the special circumstances involved in an aged care environment. We conduct our investigations with the sensitivity and professionalism that some of the most vulnerable members of our society deserve.
