MORE than half the 298 nursing homes in South Australia have failed to meet new fire safety standards, despite being helped by taxpayer funds to upgrade their facilities.

More than 200 frail and elderly nursing home residents in the Northern Territory may be at risk by nursing homes failing to meet regulations for fire sprinklers, fire doors and alarms.

A new 60-place aged care home at Huntfield Heights, focussing on care for people living with dementia, was officially opened today by the Minister for Ageing, Julie Bishop.

Older Greek and Italian people targeted by fall prevention program

Older people from Greek and Italian backgrounds in South Australia are the prime targets in a falls prevention program launched today in Adelaide by the Minister for Ageing, Julie Bishop.

Older Australians and their carers will soon have more opportunities for overnight respite care, following calls by the Australian Government for funding applications from community organisations that provide carer respite services to increase their services.

Medicare Australia (formerly the HIC) is examining a plan where medication charts would double as scripts in nursing homes to cut excessive paperwork and it is hoped boost GP attendance at nursing homes.

Glow-in-the-dark toilet seats have been credited with improving safety at a Melbourne hospital by cutting falls among elderly patients.

Clinical trials which have just concluded at The Prince Charles Hospital in Brisbane have demonstrated that compact monitoring devices have the potential to quickly and accurately detect falls in patients recovering from strokes.

MEMBER for Northern Tablelands Richard Torbay welcomed yesterday's announcement by Health Minister John Hatzistergos of $100,000 in funding over two years to extend the groundbreaking Memory Assessment Program (MAP).

Lisa Mitchell speaks to students who changed careers for the satisfaction of helping the aged.