VICTORIA'S nursing homes and aged care hostels are far and away the worst in Australia, official figures reveal.

THE aged-care system is as rigid as the central planning models of the Stalinist era, according to a former Howard Government adviser.

Aged Care Clinical Fellowships are funded by the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing and are designed to assist health professionals (Nursing, Allied Health or Medicine) currently practicing in Residential Aged Care Homes in Australia to acquire practical knowledge and skills in promoting best practice and in leading others in improving clinical practice.

GEELONG researchers are developing a world-first "second skin" to reduce wounds among nursing home residents.

More than 20,000 aged care nurses and personal care workers will have the opportunity to upgrade their skills through two new Australian Government-funded training programs, the Federal Minister for Ageing, Julie Bishop, said today.

EILEEN Walker, 89, was "a thin, wasted, elderly female" when she died in June 2003 after dropping from a size 14 to a size 6 during her stay at Graceview Lodge in the Victorian town of Moe.

The launch of a new, privately-developed retirement village in Netley, South Australia, highlighted the evolving nature of Australia’s aged care system, the Federal Minister for Ageing, Julie Bishop, said today.

Elderly people are not taking up hospital beds in ever-increasing numbers, a study has found.

TIGHT government controls on pricing for aged care would exacerbate an imminent shakeout in the industry and deny consumers choice, according to the author of a major review into Australian residential care.

Jemalong Retirement Village has secured a place in the Aged Care Hall of Fame after winning the Aged Community Services Australia National Newsletter award for the second time.