Aged care news highlights from the week ending 18 August 2023, aggregated by Ideagen.

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 Ideagen.

COVID-19 News 

Aged care Covid cases ease

According to Australian Ageing Agenda, as winter draws to a close, cases of Covid in residential aged care homes are falling, according to government figures. From a peak of 3,782 recorded on 1 June – and in spite of concerns of a winter rebound – the number of weekly Covid cases has been dropping steadily ever since.

Dipping below 1,000 towards the end of July, as of 10 August, there were 614 cases of Covid in 106 aged care facilities across the country.

Aged Care Alert: 2023 summer bulk PPE pack deployment

According to the Department of Health and Aged Care, a 2023 summer supply of bulk personal protective equipment (PPE) packs will be deployed to all residential aged care homes from the National Medical Stockpile (NMS). PPE pack deliveries are scheduled to commence in early September 2023, starting with rural and remote aged care homes. Deployment will be completed by December 2023. This will be the last seasonal PPE bulk deployment from the NMS to aged care homes.

New COVID-19 variant ‘Eris’ and its potential impact on Aged Care

According to Aged Care Guide, the World Health Organisation added a new SARS-CoV-2 variant to the ‘currently circulating variant under monitoring’ roster — EG.5# — which includes a strain known as EG.5.1, nicknamed ‘Eris.’ The number of COVID-19 cases which had been identified as EG.5 have steadily increased since May. EG.5 is a descendant of XBB.1.9.2, with one extra spike mutation, first detected in Asia.

According to the WHO there is no evidence that EG.5 is fuelling any significant rises in cases or deaths of COVID-19 or that infections involving the virus are more severe. Symptoms associated with EG.5 reportedly include: a runny nose, fatigue, sneezing and a sore throat. The WHO had cautioned that although COVID-19 cases and deaths continued to decline globally, hospitalisations and deaths were a greater indicator, as testing and reporting had also slowed.

Other News

New app helps people with Parkinson’s gait

According to Aged Care Insite, the University of NSW (UNSW) has launched a new app to help people with Parkinson's Disease learn to walk better and for longer. Walking Tall was released last week by a team of UNSW biomedical engineers – led by Dr Matthew Brodie – in hopes of helping people with Parkinson's with their gait.

"Those who live with Parkinson's Disease have to think about every single step they take," Dr Brodie said. "We asked them how much mental effort it takes for them to walk, and often they would say 100 per cent." "This app can give people confidence and also a sense of achievement that they can be empowered and do something for themselves to help their own condition."

PM’s cheaper medicines pledge hits snag

According to Aged Care Insite, the government has accused the coalition of standing in the way of millions of Australians accessing cheaper medicines, as they seek to delay the rollout of 60-day dispensing.

On Wednesday, coalition senators Anne Ruston and Bridget McKenzie said if Labor didn’t pause their 60-day dispensing policy – set to come into effect on September 1 – they would move a disallowance motion. It came a day after the powerful Pharmacy Guild called on the government to pause its dispensing rollout, citing a new survey that showed “hundreds of pharmacies are reducing opening hours, cutting staff and increasing fees for services”.

24/7 nursing milestone attained in aged care homes

According to Aged Care Guide, the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation, ANMF; the Council on the Ageing, COTA Australia; and Catholic Health Australia have celebrated newly released statistics which offered insight into the first month of active 24/7 registered nursing in aged care facilities.

Registered nurses were on-site in aged care homes 98 percent of the time — equivalent to an average of 23.5 hours of nursing care per day, as revealed in figures released August 10, 2023. Annie Butler, federal secretary of ANMF, said the data demonstrated that the Government continued to deliver on its election commitment to fixing aged care by implementing one of the key recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety.

Financial Report on the Australian Aged Care Sector 2021-22

The Department of Health and Aged Care has released a report on the financial performance of the Australian aged care sector for the 2021-22 financial year. It includes an analysis of residential aged care, home care, and the Commonwealth Home Support Programme.

‘Heart of how we connect’: storytelling connects residents and future health workforce

According to Aged Care Insite, aged-care facility Bolton Clarke has partnered with Australian universities to launch a new program to inspire the future aged-care workforce through an innovative storytelling program.

Storytelling in Health and Aged Care, Research and Education – known as SHARE – uses various storytelling projects, such as intergenerational digital storytelling, to connect students and residents and foster intergenerational relationships. SHARE's lead researcher Dr Xanthe Golenko said the program aims to improve residents' well-being, reduce loneliness, and increase social connection. "Current training for the future health workforce offers few opportunities to gain experience working in aged-care settings," Dr Golenko said. "Storytelling really allows students to get to know the person – it helps to develop empathy and compassion, and students also build confidence in being in an aged care setting and learn to communicate effectively with older people."

South Australia’s first dementia care village opens

According to Aged Care Insite, a new dementia care village has opened in South Australia – complete with a shop designed by Coles, a hairdresser, and a cafe. Partnering up with the federal and state government, HammondCare opened the dementia care village in Daw Park, Adelaide, in hopes of focusing on relationship-based care.

In line with the recommendations of the Aged Care Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, the village was designed around small, home-like cottages to maximise autonomy and minimise disability.

Home Care News

Analysis found regional housing may be the future of affordable living

According to Aged Care Guide, older Australians with lower net incomes than the general population were likely to have similar housing aspirations to their median income counterparts, according to new research published by the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute [AHURI].

However, older people continued to face precarious housing circumstances, as of August, 2023. AHURI researchers reported that policy changes were needed to address housing availability, the general understanding of housing options for older people and development in regional Australian accommodation.

Weigh up potential impacts of reforms now, providers advised

According to Community Care Review, home care sector boards should not leave strategic thinking and discussions about mergers and other responses to the reform agenda until a crisis forces them too, a home care chief tells Community Care Review.

“Boards should already be engaging in the strategic thinking, discussion and decisions about what the government reform agenda means for their organisation and whether a merger is the right strategy for them,” board member and outgoing chief executive officer of community transport provider Active Care Network Ben Jackson, told CCR.

Legislation

Accountability Amendment (Access and Assistance for Independent Health and Aged Care Pricing Authority) Principles 2023 [CTH] – Commenced 15.8.23

This instrument amends the Accountability Principles 2014 to allow access to the residential care service and provide all reasonable facilities and assistance necessary to persons performing aged care pricing and costing advice functions of the Independent Health and Aged Care Pricing Authority.