I have been listening to the talk raging around aged care and feel it is time someone attempted to inject some balance into the rampant negativity swirling around this topic.

I have been in full-time general practice since 1981. I have visited various residential aged care facilities in Melbourne on an almost-daily basis since then.

I do not see the disastrous lack of care that people are reporting to the royal commission and to the media, and I am trying to work out why my experience is so different to that of others. The following may go some way to explaining the discrepancies.

I feel that, in Australia, the minority view is often listened to more than a majority view. I believe that the terrible experiences that some people have had in residential aged care facilities are being heard, while the vast majority of people’s interactions with the aged care sector are positive ones.