Aged Care Quality Bulletin #63 - March 2024
Commissioner’s message
Earlier this month, the Minister for Aged Care the Hon. Anika Wells MP announced the release of the Aged Care Taskforce’s Final Report. The report delivered 23 recommendations to improve the sustainability of aged care, which will be carefully considered by the Government. It is an important report and if you have not yet read it in detail, I encourage you to do so.
Also this month, we have hosted a series of roundtables with the sector as part of our public consultation process on our draft guidance for the strengthened Quality Standards to be introduced under the new Aged Care Act. In addition to thanking everyone who has participated, I also wanted to acknowledge those who have made submissions providing feedback through our survey as part of the consultation process. Many practical suggestions and a lot of useful advice has been shared with us and is being carefully considered. There are still a few weeks left to let us know what you think and where you think we could improve or add to the guidance. I encourage you to add your voice. The online consultation process closes on 30 April.
As we head into the cooler months which can lead to an increase in the spread of infectious diseases, particularly in aged care settings, I recommend that you use our new Antimicrobial stewardship self-assessment tool. We’ve designed the tool to help providers and clinicians review their antimicrobial stewardship programs. Use of the tool can in turn decrease inappropriate antimicrobial use and improve the health and wellbeing outcomes for people receiving aged care.
I look forward to meeting and speaking with all those who will be attending our second National Aged Care Provider Conference in April in Adelaide. Around 1000 providers will be attending in person, with a further 500 joining remotely, and you can now view the full program on our website. We have a wonderful line-up of experts participating from across the sector. A reminder that while in-person registrations are full, providers can still register (at no charge) to participate virtually for the full conference via livestreaming.
Aged care reform update
Provide your feedback on our draft guidance for the strengthened Quality Standards under the new Act
The Commission’s public consultation on our draft guidance for the strengthened Quality Standards is still open. We encourage you to take the time to share your feedback with us.
We would welcome your feedback on the following draft guidance documents:
guidance for providers on quality standards 1–7
audit methodology
evidence framework
guidance for aged care workers
pre-audit preparation tool
request for Information template – category 4 and 5
request for Information template – category 6
glossary.
Your thoughts and ideas will help us to make sure that these resources support providers to deliver quality, person-centred aged care. We also want to know if there is any information or explanation that you think is missing.
The consultation closes at midday AEST on 30 April 2024. We will then publish a summary of all the feedback we received and give updates on the changes we’ve made.
Applications for reaccreditation for residential aged care services
Some providers are not sure how the coming reforms to aged care will affect the process for applying for reaccreditation of residential aged care services. If your residential accreditation expires anytime during 2024, you will still need to submit your application for reaccreditation to the Commission.
We will continue to send reminders to providers when these applications are due. Please contact us on 1800 951 822 if you have any questions about applying for reaccreditation.
Consumer advisory bodies that work for people receiving care
Consumer advisory bodies provide valuable feedback to help providers to improve the care and services they offer. For a consumer advisory body to be successful, it needs to be designed in consultation with the older people receiving care.
Providers are not all the same; they may deliver residential or home care, or a combination of both, through one or more services. These differences mean that not all consumer advisory bodies will be the same.
Providers need to speak to the older people to whom they are providing care to find out what will work best for them. If a provider has more than one service, this should include asking the people receiving care if they would prefer one advisory body for the whole organisation or one for each service.
Consumer advisory bodies work best when everyone has the opportunity to share their knowledge and experiences. This supports the members to take part and speak up. It also makes sure that providers get feedback that is relevant to their service and based on lived experience.
Successful advisory bodies:
are designed with older people receiving care
understand the local issues
are open to people who are eager to join and give fresh perspectives
include a diverse mix of people to make sure decisions reflect your community
value their members’ contributions and the decision making processes
are assessed regularly to make sure they meet changing needs, including an increase in membership requests
make sure members are involved and ideas and concerns are shared effectively
are held in locations that are accessible
are regularly promoted by providers
respect the right of individuals to choose whether they participate or not.
Consumer advisory bodies are not just a requirement; they’re a vital link to the people you care for.
You can find out more about consumer advisory bodies and strategies to strengthen yours on our website.
Assessing care time reporting
The Department of Health and Aged Care is assessing how residential aged care providers are reporting care time.
The department uses its reporting assessments to confirm the accuracy of the care time information reported by residential aged care services in their Quarterly Financial Report and 24/7 Registered Nurse report.
Assessments help to make sure that services are meeting their care requirements. They also show if Star Ratings accurately reflect the care that’s provided, through the Staffing sub-category of the Star Ratings. In these ways, they will help improve the overall quality of aged care data.
Providers need to check that all their reports are accurate. They must also keep on hand supporting documents for their reporting and provide them if asked.
The department will assess all approved providers by 1 April 2025 with all services being assessed at least once every 3 years. Every provider will have one of their services assessed in the first 18 months.
The department understands that providers may still be refining their reporting processes. If the department finds any issues during an assessment, they will apply procedural fairness.
You can find more information on the department’s care time reporting assessments page.
Information on how the Commission is regulating workforce-related responsibilities, including care minutes, is available on our website.
Aged Care Volunteer Visitors Scheme
Aged Care Volunteer Visitors Scheme (ACVVS) fact sheets are now available for providers of Home Care Packages (HCPs) and residential care.
The ACVVS is a free program for eligible people receiving aged care. Visits are available to anyone receiving government-subsidised residential aged care or an HCP who is socially isolated or lonely.
Produced by the Department of Health and Aged Care, the fact sheets cover the roles and responsibilities of aged care volunteers, volunteer managers and providers. They also explain how the program can:
complement the HCP or residential aged care service
support people receiving aged care who are feeling lonely or isolated.
You can find the fact sheets on the department’s website:
Better connected care with My Health Record
The Australian Digital Health Agency is helping aged care providers to connect to My Health Record. The Agency is offering free and personalised registration support.
The benefits of My Health Record to providers include:
quicker transfers of care in emergency situations
validating and verifying clinical information
avoiding duplicating tests and diagnostics imaging
improving continuity of care and end of life care.
New residential care transfer overview
The Aged Care Transfer Summary (also known as ACTS) uses My Health Record to support access to crucial health information about an aged care resident. This information helps clinical hand-over when someone is transferred from a residential care home to hospital care.
Later this year, you will be able to view an aged care resident’s key health information in My Health Record views. This will help to coordinate a person’s care across the aged care and health systems.
The Australian Digital Health Agency can help providers connect their residential aged care homes. They also offer one-on-one registration support and e-learning modules, webinars and training simulators to help you get started.
Visit the Digital Health website to register your interest and their team will contact you with further information and next steps.
Food, nutrition and dining
Food for thought – Using technology to improve the dining experience
It’s the right of all people receiving aged care to have an enjoyable dining experience. However, this experience can be negatively affected if an older person is struggling with loss of appetite, loneliness or boredom.
Residential services face an ongoing challenge to provide a dining experience that is reliably comfortable, enjoyable and enticing.
Some aged care services are using creativity and technology in their dining service to meet these challenges. They’re using innovative solutions like virtual reality (VR) headsets and smartphone applications. These technologies help enhance a person’s dining experience through increased enjoyment, communication and engagement.
On our site visits we’ve seen providers using VR headsets around mealtimes to transport residents to immersive virtual environments. They’ve found it can help to:
stimulate appetites
encourage people to anticipate the upcoming meal
engage people’s senses and promote social interaction between residents and staff.
We’ve also seen providers using applications, or ‘apps’, to support meal service, selection and choice.
You can read more about these innovative options in our full article.
Clinical update
Antimicrobial stewardship: introducing our new self-assessment tool
We’re committed to helping the aged care sector to implement antimicrobial stewardship programs. These programs are a major part of the global push to address the serious issue of antimicrobial resistance (where an antibiotic becomes less effective, or even ineffective, in treating particular bacterial infections because the bacterium has developed a resistance to that medication).
Antimicrobial stewardship includes activities that promote and support best practice prescribing and use of antimicrobials. The aim of our work on antimicrobial stewardship is to:
improve the safe and appropriate use of antimicrobials
reduce patient harm
contain antimicrobial resistance related infections in aged care services.
Antimicrobial stewardship programs can:
decrease inappropriate use of antimicrobials
improve patient and resident outcomes
reduce the negative consequences of antimicrobial use – like antimicrobial resistance, toxicity and unnecessary costs.
We have developed an Antimicrobial stewardship self-assessment tool and accompanying user guide.
Using the tool is optional for providers and clinicians. However, we highly recommend it to highlight the range of activities available for implementing antimicrobial stewardship programs. It can also help you review your existing programs and gain greater understanding of what antimicrobial stewardship involves.
For more information and resources, read our full antimicrobial stewardship article.
Webinars
Recording available – Sector Performance Report
The recording and presentation are now available for our Sector Performance Report webinar that was held on 19 March. This webinar looked at our most recent quarterly sector performance report, which provides sector-wide performance data about residential aged care and home services.
Recording available – Restrictive practices, session 2
The recording and presentation are now available for our Restrictive practices, session 2 webinar that was held on 25 March. Following on from our first restrictive practices webinar in February, this session focused on unpacking some of the myths and misconceptions surrounding the use of chemical restraint in aged care.
Governing for reform
The Governing for Reform program is open to anyone in the aged care sector interested in improving their clinical and corporate governance abilities.
Since the start of 2024, participants have completed more than 1800 learning modules. The most popular modules have been:
Consumers at the Centre of Care
Obligations and Accountabilities
Effective Governance.
The Governing for Reform Program has a new series of webinars, podcasts, workshops and specialist coaching for 2024.
The 2024 webinar series kicked off with ‘The importance of culture in engaging the aged care workforce’. The expert panel shared their strategies for creating a positive culture to:
attract and keep talented staff
improve employee wellbeing
support older Australians.
Leaders in aged care need to consider opportunities for improving productivity through emerging tools and digital innovation. The 27 March webinar looked at the role of artificial intelligence and other productivity tools in the future of aged care. If you missed it, the recording will be available shortly on our website.
To access all the Governing for Reform learning activities, head to our website.
To keep informed about upcoming events, subscribe to our newsletter and updates.
Training and resources
Online workshops for approved providers
The Commission regularly hosts online workshops for approved providers of residential aged care and home services.
Upcoming workshops in April include:
The Serious Incident Response Scheme (SIRS) in residential and home services
Effective Incident Management Systems (IMS).
Visit our Workshops webpage for further information and registration details.