Elderberry Expert Rating and Opinion
The Elderberry Index for Hippocrates Aged Care Centre is 3.38 out of 5, against a national average of 3.81. Three findings are worth a closer look.
Things we noticed
Worth a closer look
Reported care time falls short of a staffing target
Total care: 236 vs 231 minutes; registered nurses: 43 vs 46 minutes per resident per day.
Enjoying the food is below the survey average
43% answered “Always” or “Most of the time”, compared with 67.4% across other homes.
Food enjoyment fell in the latest survey
43% positive in 2026, compared with 71% in 2025: 28 percentage points lower.
Sources and Explanation
This is a programmatic interpretation of published data, not an in-person inspection or a separate expert-assigned score. The figures are the Elderberry Index and its four government component ratings; a measure the home has no published rating for is left out. Our rating methodology.
Ratings: August 2026. Survey comparisons: 2026 interview responses from that extract. Other Australian homes in the same ratings extract; survey comparisons also require the same interview year. Each eligible home has equal weight; missing/invalid values excluded. These are descriptive comparisons, not resident-weighted or adjusted for differences in care needs.
How findings are selected
Survey gaps of at least 3 percentage points, rating gaps of at least 0.3 stars, and changes of at least 10 percentage points can qualify. These are editorial selection thresholds, not tests of statistical significance. Benchmarks need at least 30 homes. Each side shows up to three eligible findings; missing values never become negative findings. Specific combined food evidence and sustained care-target results are prioritised, then larger differences. Respect and caring are grouped when both qualify.
Food spending uses the My Aged Care sector median for Jan–Mar 2026; resident enjoyment comes from the 2026 survey. The combined finding reports two separate observations from different reporting periods; it does not establish that spending caused the survey result. Year-to-year survey samples may differ and respondent counts are unavailable. Care consistency uses the latest four submitted, quality-checked care-minute records and direct RN minutes without EN top-up.
A lower compliance rating is a comparison with other homes, not a claim of an active sanction. Higher expenditure alone is not treated as better care. Unadjusted clinical incident measures are not used to rank quality here.
My Aged Care home profile · Government Star Ratings extract
Benchmark populations
| Measure | Mean | Other homes |
|---|---|---|
| Elderberry Index | 3.81 | 2365 |
| Residents’ experience | 3.62 | 2434 |
| Compliance | 4.83 | 2395 |
| Staffing | 3.18 | 2454 |
| Quality measures | 3.07 | 2456 |
| Respectful treatment | 95.36% | 1080 |
| Feeling safe | 96.26% | 1080 |
| How well the home is run | 88.10% | 1080 |
| Getting needed care | 94.43% | 1080 |
| Confidence in staff skills | 89.09% | 1080 |
| Encouragement to stay independent | 87.16% | 1079 |
| Staff explaining things | 80.26% | 1078 |
| Enjoying the food | 67.36% | 1080 |
| Following up concerns | 84.23% | 1079 |
| Kind and caring staff | 95.43% | 1080 |
| Having a say in daily life | 92.71% | 1080 |
What do residents say about Hippocrates Aged Care Centre?
When residents surveyed at Hippocrates Aged Care Centre for the 2026 Residents’ Experience Survey were asked whether staff are kind and caring, 79% answered “always” or “most of the time”, below the 95.4% average across other homes by 16.4 percentage points. When residents were asked whether the home is well run (72% against 88.1%) and whether staff follow up when they raise things (71% against 84.2%), answers were also below the average for other homes.
At Hippocrates Aged Care Centre, answers were at least 3 percentage points below the average for other homes on 8 of the 10 questions other than food, and within 3 percentage points on the rest.
What should you ask about on a visit?
A visit is a chance to ask about how staff get to know each resident. Of residents asked whether staff are kind and caring, 50% answered “always”, 29% “most of the time” and 21% “some of the time”; none answered “never”.
Do residents feel safe and get the care they need?
Asked whether they feel safe, 64% of residents surveyed at Hippocrates Aged Care Centre answered “always” and 21% “most of the time”. When asked whether they get the care they need, 64% answered “always” and 21% “most of the time”.
What is the food like at Hippocrates Aged Care Centre?
In the 2026 Residents’ Experience Survey, 43% of residents surveyed at Hippocrates Aged Care Centre said they like the food “always” or “most of the time”, 24.4 percentage points below the average of 67.4% across other homes. The share fell from 71% in 2025. Another 57% answered “some of the time”, and none answered “never”.
In January to March 2026, Hippocrates Aged Care Centre spent $15 per resident per day on food, 6% below the sector median of $16. Spending on dietitians in the same quarter was $0.65 per resident per day, 132% above the sector median of $0.28.
How are meals prepared?
According to Hippocrates Aged Care Centre, breakfast, lunch and dinner are all cooked fresh. All meals are prepared on site.
Do residents enjoy the food?
Residents who answered “Always” or “Most of the time”.
43% of surveyed residents
Spending & preparation
Daily spending on food and dietitian services, and how meals are prepared.
Sources and Explanation
How much care and nursing does Hippocrates Aged Care Centre provide?
In January to March 2026, Hippocrates Aged Care Centre reported 236 minutes of care per resident per day, 5 minutes above its target of 231 minutes. Registered nurses provided 43 of those minutes, 3 minutes below the registered-nurse target of 46.
Hippocrates Aged Care Centre met both its total and registered-nurse targets in none of the last four quarters. Across those four quarters, minutes of care per resident per day ranged from 230 to 236.
Who provides that care?
Personal care workers provided 191 of the 236 minutes (80.9%), followed by registered nurses (43 minutes, 18.2%) and enrolled nurses (2 minutes, 0.8%). Hippocrates Aged Care Centre also reported spending on physiotherapists, podiatrists, speech pathologists, dietitians, and lifestyle and recreation workers in the same quarter.
How does Hippocrates Aged Care Centre spend on resident care?
Spending on care and nursing at Hippocrates Aged Care Centre in the 2024–25 financial year was $292.68 per resident per day, 11% above the sector median of $264.85. Total spending was $416.68 per resident per day. These figures are the home’s costs, not the fees a resident pays.
Where does the rest of the spending go?
Other categories included accommodation and maintenance ($32.13), cleaning and laundry ($24.36) and administration ($20.34) per resident per day. Within care and nursing, the largest amounts per resident per day went to personal care workers and assistants in nursing ($179.15) and registered nurses ($59.16).
