AN INQUIRY into the Roy Fagan Centre following care controversies has found improvements in staffing levels at the centre.

The inquiry, undertaken by a Legislative Council committee earlier this year, found the findings of two coronial inquests had resulted in additional funding for medical, nursing and allied health staffing increases and for infrastructure uprades.

It noted there had been a reported improvement in patient well-being and staff experience. If found there was a greated focus on staff professional development at the centre and that there had been an improvement of documentation processes.

The Legislative Council inquiry followed another that launched last year into the centre after a patient there was found with a maggot-infested wound.

The review, undetaken by the Health Department, examined the care of the man before his hospital admission following the incident in 2020 and other patient care issues over the past 12 months.

The resulting report made 13 findings, noting the facility lacked a contemporary model of care, had a nursing staff shortage proportionate to the complexity of patient needs, and had a deficit of allied health staff on-site.

It also found there had been a lack of investment in Older Persons Mental Health Services in Tasmania.

Report author, Chief Psychiatrist Aaron Groves, said a new specialist facility was required for the state's most complex dementia patients.

In response to the more recent inquiry, Health Minister Jeremy Rockliff said the government would support the committee's two recommendations, regarding continued monitoring of patient experiences and outcomes and continued implementation of a contemporary care model. "An annual report on progress toward addressing the recommendations of the Review of the Roy Fagan Centre Older Persons Mental Health Services Report will be made publicly available," he said.

The Advocate, Monday 29 August 2022