Author: Jesse

Senior Australians in aged care and at home remain the focus of a plan of action from the Morrison Government aimed at limiting the spread of COVID-19.

Minister for Aged Care and Senior Australians, Richard Colbeck, today outlined the measures in place to protect residents, staff and their families at facilities across the country.

The front line of defence starts with a funding boost of $101.2 million with a focus on:

• Upskilling aged care workers in coronavirus infection control;
• Boosting staff numbers, support and training for residential care homes where an urgent health response is required;
• A telehealth consultation service provided by doctors, both GPs and specialists, for anyone over the age of 70;
• Specialist onsite pathology services ensuring residents don’t have to leave facilities and to quickly respond to potential cases; and
• Additional funds allowing the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission to work with providers on improving infection control.

Read more:

Funding boost for aged care set to strengthen defence against COVID-19

As part of the Commission’s response to coronavirus (COVID-19), our site visits will include the following new risk-based question on the minimisation of infection-related risks:

What action has the service taken to assess and minimise infection-related risks for the care of aged care consumers including the impact of a potential coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak?

From Monday 9 March 2020, quality assessors will ask the additional risk-based questions of the person in charge at a service during the entry meeting on commencement of all performance assessments. This includes assessments with residential aged care services and home services.

Residential services – Risk-based questions

1. Have there been any adverse findings by another regulatory agency or oversight body in the last 12 months? (e.g. Healthcare complaints commission or similar, Food safety authority, Workcover, etc).
2. What trends do your complaints data show you?
3. How many consumers are receiving pressure area care?
4. Have there been any medication incidents in the past 6 months where a consumer required hospitalisation or attention by a medical officer?
5. How many consumers have had falls and required medical attention in the past 3 months?
6. How many consumers at the service are currently receiving psychotropic medications? (To be captured as a rate or percent of total consumers at the service.) How many consumers are restrained in order to manage risks to themselves or others at the service? (To be captured as a rate or percent of total consumers at the service.)
7. Can you tell me about incidents in the past 6 months where a consumer or staff member has required medical attention as a result of challenging behaviour from a consumer?
8. What action has the service taken to assess and minimise infection-related risks for the care of aged care consumers including the impact of a potential coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak?

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Risk-based questions

People who have returned from a country or region that is at high or moderate risk for COVID-19 should monitor their health closely.

If you develop symptoms including a fever and cough you should isolate yourself immediately and urgently seek medical attention. Go to www.health.gov.au/covid19-travellers for the list of at-risk countries.

What should I tell my staff?

Employers should provide information and brief all employees and contract staff, including domestic and cleaning staff where applicable, on relevant information and procedures to prevent
the spread of coronavirus. You should inform staff who meet the above criteria that they should remain isolated in their home.

Employees should advise their employer if they develop symptoms during the isolation period, particularly if they have been in the workplace. Public health authorities may contact employers in the event an employee is confirmed to have coronavirus.

Read more:

Information for health care and residential care workers Novel coronavirus (COVID-19) (.pdf)

Coronavirus (COVID-19) – what you need to know (.pdf)

Coronavirus (COVID-19) isolation guidance (.pdf)

Professor Brendan Murphy, Australia’s Chief Medical Officer, has recently issued advice to all aged care providers about COVID-19 (novel coronavirus). In his letter, as well as stressing the importance of infection control and preparedness for health emergencies, Professor Murphy outlined the factors aged care services should consider in relation to emergency planning:

• first steps if infection is suspected or identified (e.g. seeking medical assessment, diagnosis and contact with local public health officials, if needed);
• arrangements to ensure adequate care of the infected individual (e.g. staffing, isolation/quarantine within the facility, medical care, further liaison with public health officials);
• protection measures for other residents, visitors and staff
• notification advice to families, carers and relevant authorities.

The importance of infection control to ensuring consumers’ safety, health and wellbeing is underscored in Standard 3 (Personal care and clinical care) of the Aged Care Quality Standards. Requirement 3(g) in this standard requires aged care services to demonstrate “minimisation of infection-related risks through implementing standard and transmission-based precautions to prevent and control infection”.

Additionally, Standard 8 of the Quality Standards requires providers to have clinical governance arrangements in place that ensure safe and quality care for people receiving aged care – which can include effective organisation wide systems for preventing, managing and controlling infections.

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Standard 3g

Standard 8e

Australian Guidelines for the Prevention and Control of Infection in Healthcare (2019) (.pdf)

How to wash and dry hands with soap and water (.pdf)

How to clean hands using an alcohol based liquid or hand rub (.pdf)

Hand Hygiene Australia – 5 Moments For Hand Hygiene

The Morrison Government has secured an additional 54 million face masks to help protect medical professionals working to stop the spread of the COVID-19 outbreak.

A combination of surgical masks, P2 and N95 respirators have been secured for the National Medical Stockpile, which will be available for medical and aged care professionals to care for patients with suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19.

The Government has been working closely with the medical profession, who have highlighted the importance of securing additional personal protective equipment (PPE) to support the response to the global COVID-19 outbreak.

We are grateful for the role of our frontline workers and recognise the need to continue to protect them and support the response.

Read more:

Australian Government secures additional 54 million face masks to contain coronavirus outbreak

The ATO is retiring AUSkey and Manage ABN Connections on 27 March 2020. From 28 March 2020 My Aged Care portals will not be accessible using AUSkey and Manage ABN Connections.

Service providers and assessors using those authentication services must transition to a new supported authentication method as soon as possible. You can start using these authentication methods now.

My Aged Care already supports the use of:

• myGovID and Relationship Authorisation Manager (RAM)
• VANguard FAS (Organisation Single Sign On)

Read more:

Changes to the My Aged Care authentication service – take action now

My Aged Care – Getting started with myGovID and Relationship Authorisation Manager

If the Australian aged care system is to meet the many challenges it faces in the years ahead, research, innovation and technology are vital. The Royal Commissioners are investigating whether the aged care sector and the Australian Government are doing enough to foster much needed developments.

The Royal Commissioners will hold a hearing in the form of a workshop in Adelaide on Monday 16 March and Tuesday 17 March 2020.

During this workshop, Counsel Assisting will explore with a wide range of Australian and overseas witnesses whether there are barriers in the current system to fostering innovation, translating research into practice, and using technology to improve the lives of older Australians, and if so, what can be done to overcome those barriers.

Evidence will be led about exciting innovations taking place in aged care, including those designed to help people stay in their own homes for longer. Witnesses will be asked about how those innovations can be more widely used.

Read more:

Adelaide Workshop 2 – Research, Innovation and Technology

The complete transcript from Friday 21 February 2020 hearing of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety is now available to read on the Commission website.

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Adelaide Hearing 4 – Wednesday 4 March 2020 – Transcript (.pdf)

At the COAG Health Council meeting on 28 February 2020, the Commonwealth Government announced it will not proceed with the current tender process to engage a single aged care assessment workforce. The Government will take advice from state and territory governments and the Royal Commission on Aged Care Quality and Safety on any future changes to the delivery of aged care assessment services.

In light of this announcement, the webinar planned for 11 March 2020 on the new aged care assessment arrangements is cancelled.

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Webinar on new aged care assessment arrangements cancelled

The Government has provided funding through its mid-year budget process for the Commission to expand its processes in relation to responding to compulsory reports.

From 1 March 2020, Commission staff will be looking more closely at incident reports in relation to risk assessment and may follow up with individual approved providers to determine the outcome of internal investigations undertaken in response to incidents.

In some cases, providers may be requested to provide additional evidence of actions taken such as staff training and amendments to resident care plans or behaviour charts. Alternatively, or in addition to this, a site visit may be conducted in particular cases to collect additional information, including through staff and resident interviews. Depending on the findings, further regulatory action may be considered.

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Additional risk assessment of compulsory reports