News

Residential Care:

• Federal Court ruling – ‘asset replacement charges’
• ACFI appraisals – the seven-day rule

All:

• Keep your staff details current in the Provider Portal
• ACFA Respite Care consultation closing soon
• Reminder: please use ‘My Aged Care’ not ‘MAC’

Read more:

Information for Aged Care Providers – Issue 2018/5 (.pdf)

The Australian Aged Care Quality Agency has released a new issue of their ‘Quality Standard’ newsletter.

In this issue…

• Introduction of unannounced re-accreditation audits
• Nominate in April for our Better Practice Awards!
• 2018 Better Practice Conference
• Prepare now for flu season
• Developing and testing guidance for new Aged Care Quality Standards
• Education on the new standards
• Celebrating Harmony Day
• In Brief: new resources, courses, events and announcements

Read more:

Quality Standard – March 2018 (.pdf)

Australian Aged Care Quality Agency

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

SMH – Medical records exposed by flaw in Telstra Health’s Argus software

ITNews – Health breached privacy law in open data bungle: OAIC

ACG – GPs visiting aged care homes say it’s a “frustrating experience”

ACG – Advocacy group pulls through in protecting pensioners on Opposition proposal

NZH – Vulnerable elderly restrained in chairs all day: documents

TWS – AACQA data reveals big rise in aged care complaints and serious risk decisions

From all the staff at Management Advantage, we would like to wish you a safe and Happy Easter.

Both the Management Advantage Office and Manad Plus Help Desk will be closed:

• Good Friday (Friday 30th March)

The Manad Plus Help Desk will be open:

• Easter Monday (Monday 2nd April)

While the office is closed and if you have any questions/issues please email support@manad.com.au or leave a message on our answering machine (1300 62 62 32) and someone will respond to you as soon as possible.

Remember to always use the self-help tools for assistance. If using version 5, go to: Help > Help Centre, If using version 4, go to: User Options > Tip Sheets.

Our iOS (Apple) App has now received an update and is available in the App Store.

The current Manad Plus Mobile App versions are now:

• Google Play Store: 1.8.112.2

• iTunes App Store: 1.8.114.4

These are both compatible with the new desktop version: v5.5.53231.0 or higher.

Attached is an updated communique from the Department of Human Services.

Read more:

[Update] Message from DHS: Quarterly Review March 2018 (.pdf)

Media Release: 28 March 2018

Nominations for the aged care 2018 Better Practice Awards open this weekend and Aged Care Minister Ken Wyatt AM is encouraging providers to enter and highlight innovation and excellence.

“Showcasing quality, safety and the application of new ideas is particularly important during this time of significant change in the aged care sector,” Minister Wyatt said.

“The Better Practice Awards are an ideal opportunity to honour and promote the effective programs, projects and initiatives that are underway to provide service excellence for senior Australians in care.

“The awards are also a great way to reward staff, management and organisations for the hard work they do.”

Read more:

Nominations Call for Aged Care Quality Awards (.pdf)

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

TWS – The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) takes the gloves off (again) to push for staff ratios in aged care with new TV and billboard campaign

HC – Study Shows Two Out Of Five Dementia Caregivers Suffer From Depression

AAA – Crisis in care for rapidly ageing Commonwealth populations

ACA – ‘Dad was pleading to die’: Alleged aged care horrors revealed

On 2 March 2018, the Federal Court ruled that ‘asset replacement charges’ are not allowed under aged care legislation. This confirms the department’s position and previous advice. In summary, the ruling confirms:

• aged care legislation is an exhaustive scheme of all the fees that providers can charge consumers
• additional service fees can only be charged for ‘other’ care and services, i.e. other than the core care and services set out in the Quality of Care Principles 2014
• only amounts permitted under aged care legislation can be deducted from lump sum refundable deposits
• ‘asset replacement charges’ and similar fees are not permitted under aged care legislation.

Read more:

Advice for providers: Federal Court ruling – ‘asset replacement charges’

More information is available on the department’s website.

The Aged Care Workforce Strategy Taskforce invites everyone working in aged care to participate in an employee engagement and enablement survey.

It only takes 15 minutes to complete and closes on 15 April 2018. Responses are completely confidential and anonymous.

The survey is being run by one of the Taskforce partners, Korn Ferry Hay Group, and the results will:

• inform and support the development of a workforce strategy
• provide benchmarks for organisational performance improvement.

Read more:

Participate in the Aged Care Workforce Strategy Taskforce employee survey

Register for the survey