Month: November 2023

News about the reforms

• Aged Care Taskforce: Results of the consultation on the draft aged care funding principles
• Draft Aged Care Data and Digital Strategy released

Sector news

• Oxygen Supplement Certification by Nurse Practitioners
• Dementia Australia introduces 4 new leadership programs
• Residential care
• Free training with the Maggie Beer Foundation for aged care chefs and cooks
• Prepare now for bushfire season

In-home care

• Updated Home Care Package pricing report now available
• Webinar: How to connect older people with smart technology

Workforce

• New edition of Working in aged care in Australia booklet

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Your Aged Care Update: Issue 43

This is the final Residential Aged Care Communiqué 2023 which presents the results of two investigations into a resident’s death due to a fall. The common underlying factor in both cases was ‘timeliness of care’. In both cases the falls were not anticipated. Both residents were under different forms of observation or checks and yet neither of the fatally injured residents were discovered by the allocated staff.

The sections ‘Reflections of senior nurses’, the editorial and detailed authors’ comments explore many of the issues. The variability in how each facility approaches resident supervision and observation requires local application of the lessons from these two cases.

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Residential Aged Care Communiqué Volume 18 Issue 4 November 2023 (.pdf)

A temporary decision-making hierarchy for the appointment of restrictive practices substitute decision-makers is in place until 1 December 2024. A new mechanism will be included in the new Aged Care Act in the future.

Providers can use this hierarchy in the meantime to ascertain the existence of a ‘restrictive practices substitute decision-maker’ for a consumer (RPSDM). If one of these five hierarchy pathways are fulfilled, an individual may be appointed as a restrictive practices nominee. An RPSDM is a person or body who can give informed consent on behalf of a resident to the use of a restrictive practice.

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How to appoint a ‘Restrictive Practices Nominee’ – the temporary hierarchy