News

Family and friends who provide informal and unpaid care to older Australians are critical to the sustainability of the aged care system, and as the population in Australia continues to age, the reliance on informal carers is set to increase.

Background Paper 6: Carers of older Australians, released by the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety today, explores the roles, challenges, and needs, of informal carers of older Australians. It also addresses services and supports to assist carers in their caring role.

The paper states that increasingly, older people in Australia are choosing to remain living in their own homes for as long as possible. A consequence of this has been an increasing reliance on family and friends to supplement formal home support services.

“Given the large number of family and friends providing care to people over the age of 65, it is clear that the replacement value of these services for the aged care system would be significant, critically affecting its current sustainability,” the paper notes.

Read more:

Background Paper 6 – Carers of older Australians (.pdf)

The Aged Care Quality Standards require aged care services that provide clinical care to demonstrate the use of a clinical governance framework (Standard 8e).

Clinical governance is an integrated set of leadership behaviours, policies, procedures, responsibilities, relationships, planning, monitoring and improvement mechanisms that are implemented to support safe, quality clinical care and good clinical outcomes for each consumer.

The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission has worked with a range of stakeholders to develop resources to help aged care providers understand the key concepts of clinical governance and how to apply these concepts in their service. This includes a toolkit to help aged care providers develop a clinical governance framework that fits their service.

Read more:

Standard 8 – Requirement e – Where clinical care is provided – a clinical governance framework, including but not limited to the following:

i) antimicrobial stewardship
ii) minimising the use of restraint
iii) open disclosure

The Morrison Government and the Australian Medical Association (AMA) has today jointly launched a new guide that aims to better aid Australians when faced with making decisions around medical treatments.

The AMA’s Informed Financial Consent Guide; A Collaboration Between Doctors and Patients will help patients better understand medical treatment fees and out of pocket costs.

The Guide will be made available from doctors, medical practices and organisations, and the AMA website.

Read more:

Informed Financial Consent Guide launched

The Royal Commission will hold a public hearing in Mildura from Monday 29 July 2019 to Wednesday 31 July 2019. The public hearing will look at the needs of family, informal and unpaid carers for older Australians, with a focus on:

Carers for older Australians

• the extent to which current arrangements meet those needs
• how services and supports for carers could be improved
• respite care.

The Royal Commission will hold a public hearing in Brisbane from Monday 5 August 2019 to Friday 9 August 2019. The public hearing will inquire into the regulation of aged care, with a focus on:

Regulation of Aged Care

• regulation of quality and safety in aged care and how aspects of the current regulatory system operate
• different approaches to regulation, including in other sectors
• how regulation and oversight of quality and safety in aged care could be improved.

Read more:

Mildura Hearing

Brisbane Hearing

Federal Member for Mayo Rebekha Sharkie has fulfilled a 2019 election commitment and introduced Private Member Bills into the 46th Parliament.

The legislation covered:

• Transparency in staffing ratios in aged care facilities, and
• A national screening program for aged care workers,

Read more:

Rebekha introduces five Private Members’ Bills

Transparency in staffing ratios in aged care facilities (.pdf)

A national screening program for aged care workers (.pdf)

The VHA and the Australian Centre for Healthcare Governance have released a new framework to support healthcare providers to establish governance frameworks and mitigate risk.

Read more:

Integrity Governance Framework (.pdf)

Integrity Governance Framework Action Plan (.pdf)

Integrity Governance Framework Assessment Tool (.pdf)

Integrity Governance Framework Better Practice Tool (.pdf)

The new forms are much simpler – half of the questions have been removed from the residential aged-care means test form, a quarter of the questions have been removed from the home care means test form and the number of notes pages in both forms has been reduced by 70 per cent.

There is also a new short form for means-tested pensioners to simply add relevant information Centrelink doesn’t already have about their home.

Read more:

Residential Aged Care Calculation of your cost of care (SA457)

Home Care Package Calculation of your cost of care (SA456)

Residential Aged Care Property details for Centrelink and DVA customers (SA485)

• The Regulatory Strategy is a document detailing the Commission’s approach to delivering regulatory functions under the Aged Care Quality and Safety Act 2018, in accordance with the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission Rules 2018.It outlines the way in which the Commission will use a proportionate, risk-based approach to achieving its regulatory objectives.
• Issue No. 2019-6 – This Regulatory Bulletin outlines the principles and practices that form the Commission’s framework for making decisions relating to its regulatory functions. It outlines how the Commission will ensure high quality and consistent decision-making under the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission Act 2018 and Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission Rules 2018.
• Issue No. 2019-7 – This Regulatory Bulletin outlines how a provider can apply for reconsideration of a regulatory decision and covers the Commission process and responsibilities relating to its reconsideration of reviewable regulatory decisions.

Read more:

ACQSC Regulatory Strategy 2019 (.pdf)

Regulatory Bulletin – Regulatory decision making (.pdf)

Regulatory Bulletin – Reconsideration of regulatory decisions (.pdf)

A community forum will be held in Adelaide. Commissioner, The Honourable Richard Tracey AM RFD QC will attend.

• Location: Adelaide Town Hall, Auditorium, 128 King William Street, Adelaide SA 5000
• Date: Monday, 12 August 2019
• Time: 1:30pm to 4:00pm

There will be a chance to give written feedback to the Commission and to talk to Commission staff. A limited number of people will be able to give a brief statement. If you would like to do so please let us know when you register. Guidelines will be provided to all registered speakers.

You can book your place by:

• Telephone: 1800 960 711 (between 8.00am-6.30pm ACST Monday-Friday except public holidays). Interpreter services are available; or
• Eventbrite: https://aged-care-royal-commission-forum-adelaide.eventbrite.com.au

Read more:

Adelaide Community Forum – Monday 12 August 2019

In Case You Missed It – Below are links to recent articles on Aged Care and Healthcare that may be of interest:

ROYAL COMMISSION: Pressure wounds, contractures and dietary inconsistencies

Daughter says prevention practices need to be improved in aged care

Graphic evidence of wounds as royal commission hears of dementia patient left to deteriorate

Aged care staff ‘missed serious ulcers’

Fake aged care nursing director fined $60,000

When half the nation’s aged care homes are losing money, more collapses will come

Residents removed after aged care facility’s shock closure

Aged care centre operator accused of charging residents the same day they were forced to leave

Gold Coast nursing home staff need financial help

ROYAL COMMISSION: Facilities struggle to meet basic care needs

Nursing home had ‘no record’ of severe wound that caused elderly woman’s death

Woman tells of ‘icy cold rage’ over mum’s neglect

Aged-care nightmare: From walking and talking to dead in three months

Royal commission hears aged care residents served re-used, cold meals in ‘race to the bottom’

Maggie Beer says food budget of $7/day per aged care resident is ‘impossible’

Gold Coast aged care facility Earle Haven to be referred to royal commission

Gold Coast aged-care residents distressed after Earle Haven Retirement Village’s sudden closure

Lack of financial resources could lead to a ‘perfect storm’ in aged care

Aged care work can be ‘sad and morbid’

Investigation of People Care facility underway

Everyday Australians And Their Four-Legged Friends Make The Best Volunteers

Aged care royal commission hears of grandfather sick of sitting in his own faeces

Aged care provider Estia Health taken to Federal Court in class action