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The ‘vanilla’ culture of aged care: Why has mediocrity become the norm?

The phrase “person-centred care” is so frequently used in aged care that it has become little more than a marketing slogan.

Published: 5 March 2025
  • national
  • 5 March 2025
  • HelloCare

Every provider claims to offer it, yet in reality, many aged care environments are still driven by rigid routines, task-focused workflows, and systemic barriers that prevent true person-centred care from being implemented.

As dementia care expert David Sheard has observed, the term has been hijacked to the point of meaninglessness – every organisation boasts of “best practice” care, yet few live up to these claims.