Aged care news highlights from the week ending 12 August 2022, 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

Aged care Covid-19 figures trending down

According to Aged Care Insite, the number of COVID-19 outbreaks in aged care homes are trending down for the first time in weeks, according to Australia’s weekly aged care report. As of August 5 there were 952 active outbreaks in aged care homes nationally, down from 1,064 the previous week.

Rapid Antigen Test Kits – continuing supply for residential aged care homes

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

According to the Department of Health and Aged Care, the Australian Government is continuing to supply a regular weekly deployment of Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) kits to residential aged care homes through the National Medical Stockpile. This regular weekly deployment should form part of your surveillance screening of at least 2 times per week and not more than 72 hours apart for staff, or on entry for each visitor. During an outbreak, this should increase to daily testing of staff and visitors.

RAT kits will be delivered to every residential aged care home around Australia each week with outbreak sites being prioritised for earliest delivery. While deliveries occur weekly regardless of outbreak status, residential aged care homes in outbreak are automatically allocated a larger quantity of kits.

Unless a residential aged care home has specifically requested to be removed from the dispatch list, all will receive regular deliveries of RAT kits. To request removal from the dispatch list, please email: AgedCareCOVIDLiaison@health.gov.au. Some residential aged care homes have purchased RATs at their own cost, to undertake RAT screening of visitors and staff. Reimbursement of this cost may be available through the COVID-19 Aged Care Support Program Extension Grant (GO4863). If you are an outbreak or exposure site with an urgent requirement for RATs, please contact your Commonwealth Case Management team.

COVID-19 Vaccination and Antiviral treatment fact sheet

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

According to the Department of Health and Aged Care, the Department has developed a new resource, the COVID-19 Vaccination and Antiviral Treatments fact sheet, with information and answers to frequently asked questions for residents living in aged care homes and their families. Please share this resource with your residents and their families if they have any questions or concerns on COVID-19 vaccinations or the use of antivirals to treat COVID-19.

Other News

Migrants ‘not silver bullet’ for aged-care crisis

According to The Australian, filling shortages in nursing homes with foreign workers is ‘not a silver bullet’, the Aged Care Minister has warned after a report found half the workforce plans to leave within three years.

Government’s FWC submission widely praised

According to Australian Ageing Agenda, the aged care provider peak body and sector’s unions have welcomed the Federal Government’s submission this week to the Fair Work Commission work value case. The Commonwealth agrees the work value of aged care workers is “significantly higher” than the current awards reflect and supports a minimum wage increase and funding it, according to its submission lodged on 8 August.

Changes to reportable incidents in aged care better safeguard older people

According to Aged Care Guide, a recent change to the reportable incidents in aged care by the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission (ACQSC) will better protect older Australians against sexual assault. Last week, the ACQSC updated the guidelines to include sexual abuse as a Priority 1 reportable incident for aged care facilities.

Updates to Serious Incident Response Scheme resources

According to the Department of Health and Aged Care, the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission has updated key Serious Incident Response Scheme (SIRS) resources to clarify reportable incidents in residential aged care involving unlawful sexual contact or inappropriate sexual conduct.

The Commission considers these incidents to be Priority 1 reportable incidents. This means you must report them to the Commission within 24 hours of becoming aware of the incident. You can do this through the My Aged Care Service Provider Portal. You must also report incidents that are unlawful or considered to be of a criminal nature (for example, sexual assault) to police within 24 hours. Find out more and access the updated resources on the Commission’s website.

Aged care legislation commencement and Senate committee inquiry

According to the Department of Health and Aged Care, on 27 July, the Australian Government introduced two key pieces of aged care legislation to Parliament enabling better service and higher quality of care for older Australians.
 
The Aged Care and Other Legislation Amendment (Royal Commission Response) Act 2022 received Royal Assent on 5 August, commencing the schedules relating to Star Ratings, information sharing, increased financial and prudential oversight, and strengthened arrangements for the use of restrictive practices. The remaining schedules will progressively commence over the coming days and months.
 
The second piece of legislation, the Aged Care Amendment (Implementing Care Reform) Bill 2022, builds on the Australian Government’s five-point plan for aged care. It contains three measures to implement election commitments including requiring residential aged care communities to have a qualified registered nurse on site and on duty 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The Bill has been referred to the Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee for inquiry and report by 31 August. The Committee is accepting submissions until 12 August.

AN-ACC Transition Fund – applications open now

According to the Department of Health and Aged Care, the AN-ACC Transition Fund is open for applications. The Grant Opportunity Guidelines GO5670 and application form are available on GrantConnect. Residential aged care providers that will receive less funding under AN-ACC than the ACFI are eligible to access the AN-ACC Transition Fund and have been sent an invitation to apply from the Department of Health and Aged Care. If you have not received an invitation to apply but believe your organisation is eligible, please contact the AN-ACC Funding Helpdesk for information on how to estimate the difference between your ACFI base and AN-ACC funding:

Phone: (02) 4406 6002
Email: ANACCfundinghelpdesk@health.gov.au

After receiving advice from the AN-ACC Funding Helpdesk, you can contact the department at AN-ACCTFGrant@health.gov.au.

For further information, please see the fact sheets ‘How do I calculate my AN-ACC care funding’ and ‘What is the AN-ACC Transition Fund?’.

Aged care provider sues over $820k bill

According to The Courier, St George Aged Care has sued to recoup more than $820,000 spent on compliance at one of its Sydney homes hit with a COVID-19 outbreak in August last year. According to a Federal Court lawsuit filed last week, St George has spent over $820,000 on advisers from three firms, including most recently Health Generation. These costs are ongoing. When a claim with SME insurance business Dual Australia for these fees was rejected, St George filed its lawsuit challenging this decision. Dual issues policies on behalf of UK insurance powerhouse Lloyd's.

Webinar: Quarterly Financial Report updates and Q&A

According to the Department of Health and Aged Care, the first Quarterly Financial Report (QFR) is due on 4 November 2022. To help aged care providers prepare for new quarterly reporting requirements, a second QFR technical webinar will be held at 1pm‑2.30pm AEST on Thursday 18 August. Register and learn more about the webinar. If you have any questions or need help, contact ffbconsultation@health.gov.au.

Centre for Cultural Diversity in Ageing webinar: Collecting Diversity Data to Promote Inclusive Services in Aged Care

According to the Department of Health and Aged Care, as part of its 2022–23 online Diversity Webinar Series, the Centre for Cultural Diversity in Ageing (PICAC Victoria) is hosting a webinar on Collecting Diversity Data to Promote Inclusive Services in Aged Care at 2pm‑3:30pm AEST on Wednesday 24 August. Register for the Collecting Diversity Data to Promote Inclusive Services webinar.

National Suicide Prevention for Seniors Program

According to the Department of Health and Aged Care, Anglicare’s Suicide Prevention for Seniors Program equips those who support older people, with the knowledge to help prevent suicide. The free program has expanded nationally and includes a general suicide prevention online course followed by a workshop contextualising the training for older people. Both sections should only take about 3 hours to complete. If you are interested, please email Anglicare at suicide.prevention@anglicare.org.au or visit the Anglicare website.

Legislation

Voluntary Assisted Dying Act 2021 (No. 29 of 2021) [SA] – substance of the Act commences 31 January 2023

An Act to provide for and regulate access to voluntary assisted dying, to establish the Voluntary Assisted Dying Review Board, to make related amendments to other Acts, and for other purposes.