Aged care news highlights from the week ending 1 October 2021, aggregated by CompliSpace.

The information in the Weekly Wrap is aggregated from other news sources to provide you with news that is relevant to the aged care sector across Australia and worldwide. Each paragraph is a summary of the subject matter covered in the particular news article. The information does not necessarily reflect the views of CompliSpace.

Coronavirus/COVID-19 News

Just 2,300 residential aged care workers across Australia remain unvaccinated

According to the Weekly Source, with 99.3% (258,255) of residential aged care workers having had at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine as of Tuesday, there remains around 2,300 staff members barred from the workforce across the nation unless they have been granted an exemption. The residential aged care workforce is to be commended for having taken the lead as the first workforce to have mandatory vaccination in Australia and now has one of the highest vaccination rates of a workforce in the world.

NSW announces visitor roadmap

According to Australian Ageing Agenda, residential aged care homes in New South Wales can welcome back visitors from Monday week for people who are fully vaccinated under the state’s roadmap out of lockdown. Under the roadmap update announced on Wednesday, aged care residents will be able to receive two fully vaccinated visitors per day from 11 October. This is in line with the state’s plan to allow fully vaccinated people in NSW to have fully vaccinated visitors to their homes from 11 October.

Peak calls for plan to restart aged care visits

According to Australian Ageing Agenda, aged care peak body Aged and Community Services Australia is urging the Federal Government to release a roadmap for residential aged care homes in lockdown to safely open their facilities to visitors. Aged care homes in New South Wales and Victoria have again been subject to restrictions recently for several months that have put a halt to in-person visitors. Aged care homes are used to shutting down for a couple of weeks or a month at most if there is a flu or gastro outbreak, but these lengthy lockdowns are much more detrimental, said ACSA CEO Paul Sadler.

Support available under the COVID-19 Aged Care Support Program Extension Grant

(Note: this excerpt is from the Department of Health newsletter. We cannot provide a link to the full version of this story until the Department of Health uploads it to their website.)

According to the Department of Health, the COVID-19 Aged Care Support Program Extension Grant (GO4863) reimburses providers for additional eligible costs incurred in managing a direct impact of COVID‑19. This includes:

• Labour (additional and replacement staff and associated costs).
• The purchase of PPE that best fits your staff and that is approved and appropriate for caring for someone confirmed or suspected of having COVID-19 (see the Guidance on infection prevention and control for residential care facilities for further information).
• Equipment and resources.
• Waste removal costs.

Approved Residential Aged Care, National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Flexible Aged Care Program (NATSIFACP) and Home Care Package providers are eligible to apply if they have:

• One or more residents, clients or staff members who have been tested for COVID‑19 and have had to isolate as result (regardless of whether the result is positive or negative).
• Incurred eligible expenses during that period of isolation (from the date of an associated COVID-19 test until the period of isolation ends) between 28 May 2021 and 31 March 2022.

This Grant opportunity closes on 31 March 2022. For more information please see the Grant Opportunity Guidelines on GrantConnect.

VIC – Important information for residential aged care facilities

(Note: this excerpt is from the Department of Health newsletter. We cannot provide a link to the full version of this story until the Department of Health uploads it to their website.)

According to the Department of Health, the Victorian Government has issued updated Guidance on COVID-19 risks for residential aged care facilities, with changes to Victoria’s restrictions that came into effect from 11.59pm on 23 September 2021. Please check the latest Directions issued by Victoria’s Chief Health Officer as advice can change rapidly.

The Victorian Department of Health (VDH) has released information to assist residential aged care facilities (RACFs) on public health actions if a positive case attended the RACF and if a primary close contact attended the RACF.

Other News

New reporting: Form now available for First Food and Nutrition Report due 21 October 2021

According to the Department of Health, if you signed an undertaking with the Department of Health for the 2021 Basic Daily Fee supplement, your first Food and Nutrition Report is due by 11:59pm AEDT on 21 October 2021.

The form is now available on the My Aged Care service provider portal. Download a copy of the explanatory notes to help you complete the report.

The Food and Nutrition Report will look at the quality and quantity of daily living services provided to residents, with a focus on food and nutrition. It is for residential aged care services and Multi-Purpose Services.

Please note that supplement payments will cease if reports are not submitted by due date. Back-payments will not be provided. If you have any questions or require assistance with the report, please email BDFS@stewartbrown.com.au

New reporting: Priority 2 reportable incidents to be lodged from 1 October

According to the Department of Health, the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission is rolling out the next phase of the Serious Incident Response Scheme (SIRS) to residential aged care, as part of its work to protect and support the welfare of senior Australians.

From 1 October 2021, residential aged care providers will be required to report Priority 2 incidents using the SIRS tile on the My Aged Care service provider portal.

A Priority 2 notification is a reportable incident that does not meet the criteria for a Priority 1 reportable incident. Under the SIRS legislation:

• Priority 2 reportable incidents must be reported to the Commission within 30 days of a provider becoming aware of the incident.
• Priority 1 reportable incidents must continue to be reported within 24 hours.

A decision support tool to determine the priority of an incident will be available on the Commission’s website from 1 October. For more information please see the SIRS guidelines.

Reminder! Do you have your Behaviour Support Plans in place?

According to the Department of Health, from 1 September 2021, it is a requirement for all residential aged care providers to have Behaviour Support Plans (BSP) in place for consumers that need them.

The BSPs form part of the existing Care and Services Plan and are aimed at protecting the rights, safety and wellbeing of senior Australians. They are required for any care recipient:

• who needs behaviour support
• where the use of a restrictive practice has been assessed as necessary, and
• where a restrictive practice is being used.

For more information on minimising restrictive practices, visit the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission website.

QI Program Manual Part B now available

According to the Department of Health, Part B of the National Aged Care Mandatory Quality Indicator Program (QI Program) Manual is now available for download. Part B contains a range of tools and resources aimed at helping providers to improve quality of care. Further information about the QI Program, including the Manual, is available on the department’s website.

Also see the Department of Health website for Part National Aged Care Mandatory Quality Indicator Program Manual 2.0 – Part C. This manual is a guide for government-subsidised residential aged care providers. Part C includes information for approved providers to access and use the QI Application in the My Aged Care provider portal as well as submit quality indicator data and access QI Program reports.

Quality indicator data available for the period April – June 2021

According to the Department of Health, Quality indicator data available for the period April – June 2021. Information on these indicators was submitted by 2,611 residential aged care services in the quarter 1 April to 30 June 2021. This represented 96% of all residential aged care services that received Australian Government subsidies for delivering care, services and accommodation (compared with 95% in the previous quarter).

Pressure injuries increase while weight loss, restraints drop

According to Australian Ageing Agenda, there have been over 800 more recorded instances of pressure injuries among aged care residents compared to the previous quarter, while unplanned weight loss and use of restraints continue to decline, the latest aged care quality indicators report shows. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s National Aged Care Mandatory Quality Indicator Program data shows there were 12,374 recorded pressure injuries across Australia in the April – June 2021 quarter, up from 11,554 during the January – March period.

Dementia cases expected to double by 2058, says comprehensive AIHW report

According to Aged Care Guide, a major report on dementia from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) was released this week, finding that dementia is the second leading cause of death in Australia and the number of people developing the disease is growing at an alarming rate.

Dementia in Australia report released

According to the Department of Health, on 20 September, during Dementia Action Week, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare released the Dementia in Australia 2021 report. The report is the first of its kind in almost 10 years and provides a comprehensive picture of dementia and its impacts on Australia’s health and aged care systems.

Up to 472,000 Australians are living with dementia, and more than half of people in residential aged care have dementia. Dementia is now the third-leading cause of disease burden in Australia and the second-leading cause of death.

For more information read the report or watch the watch the video of the online launch.

Support for the Stolen Generations accessing aged care

According to the Department of Health, by 2023 all of the more than 17,000 Stolen Generations survivors in Australia will be aged 50 and over. For trauma survivors, things that happen in their daily lives can trigger a reaction, such as anger, breathlessness, crying or feeling sick. These triggers are personal and unpredictable. To help you to provide appropriate care, safety and comfort for Stolen Generations survivors and their families, the Healing Foundation provides training and resources, including a Working with the Stolen Generations guide, fact sheet for aged care staff, Healing Our Way podcast and glossary poster.

Planning ahead to provide culturally appropriate trauma-informed care for Stolen Generations survivors, and ensuring aged care workers understand the meaning of ‘healing’ to reduce re-traumatisation is suggested in the Action plan to support Older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people guide.

Effective use of these tools may help you demonstrate Standard 2 of the Aged Care Quality Standards. For more information email ageing.and.diversity@health.gov.au

Information on the accounting treatment of bed licenses and consultation on changes to residential aged care

According to the Department of Health, in the 2021-22 Budget, the Australian Government announced that the Aged Care Approvals Round (ACAR) would cease following the 2020 round. From 1 July 2024, residential care places will be allocated directly to senior Australians.

You are invited to provide feedback on the design and implementation of the new residential aged care system. Submissions are open until 14 November 2021 via the department’s Consultation Hub.

The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) has also published information about the accounting treatment of bed licenses. Residential aged care providers should consider this information as it relates to their financial statements.

Legislation

Medicines and Poisons Act 2019 (No. 26 of 2019) (Qld) – commenced 27 September 2021

The purpose of this Act is to repeal and replace the existing legislation with a new regulatory framework comprising the Medicines and Poisons Act, Medicines and Poisons (Medicines) Regulation (Medicines Regulation) and Medicines and Poisons (Pest Management, Poisons and Other Regulated Substances) Regulation (Poisons Regulation).

The new regulatory framework:

• provides greater assurance to the community that the medicines, poisons and therapeutic goods they use are regulated by a modern, outcomes-focused framework that enhances public safety;
• ensures Queensland Health is better able to monitor and respond to health risks associated with inappropriate access to and use of, medicines and poisons. For example, the framework minimises the risk that medicines and poisons could be diverted for unlawful purposes by limiting who may supply medicines and poisons, introduces real-time prescription monitoring for particular medicines and enables the chief executive to make an emerging risk declaration to prevent substances that may pose a risk of injury or illness entering the marketplace until their safety has been determined;
• simplifies licensing requirements, for example, manufacturers with licences for multiple sites will be able to transition to a single licence for all sites, and employees will be able to be included in an employer’s approval without the need to hold a separate approval;
• streamlines the requirements for prescribing medicinal cannabis in Queensland by enabling non-specialist medical practitioners to prescribe it without the need for approval from Queensland Health, eliminating duplication with the Commonwealth approval process;
• improves national uniformity, for example by recognising Commonwealth manufacturing licences under the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989 (Cth), Narcotic Drugs Act 1967 (Cth) and Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals Code Act 1994 (Cth), and aligning key terminology with the Poisons Standard;
• provides certainty for medicines manufacturers by applying the Commonwealth Therapeutic Goods Act, ensuring that all therapeutic goods are manufactured to the same high standard; and
• includes no new or increased fees. The existing fee structure has been translated into the new framework and no new or additional fees will be payable, for example fees for primary producers who hold a licence or approval will not change.