Aged care news highlights from the week ending 3 December 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

Omicron: understanding the level of severity will take days to weeks — WHO

According to Hospital and Healthcare, the World Health Organization has designated the new Omicron COVID-19 variant to be “of concern” based on evidence that it has several mutations that may impact how it behaves; for example, on how easily it spreads or the severity of illness it causes. However, as yet there is no information to suggest that symptoms associated are different to those from other variants, WHO said.

Opportunities, talent lost during COVID

According to Australian Ageing Agenda, the COVID-19 pandemic has cost the aged care sector significantly through financial, talent and opportunity losses, an aged care chief has told an industry forum this week. Leading Age Services Australia held an online forum on Tuesday to explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the future of aged care.

Balancing risk and quality of life key to living with COVID

According to Australian Ageing Agenda, aged care providers will need to actively manage the impact of safety measures required during the pandemic to maximise the emotional and mental wellbeing of residents and staff, an aged care forum has heard. Industry peak body Leading Age Services Australia held a forum on Tuesday on the future of aged care and COVID-19.

St. Basil’s inquest: Chief nurse grilled, surge workers quit over ‘utter exhaustion’

According to Aged Care Insite, the surge nursing workforce brought into St. Basil’s struggled to identify residents and quit due to fear of losing their professional registration, the Victorian coroner’s court has heard. Nurse Angela Cox volunteered to lead the agency staff sent to St. Basil’s after 117 of its workforce were marked as close contacts. By this time there were at least 50 positive cases of COVID-19 linked to the Melbourne aged care home.

80% of eligible aged care home residents to have COVID-19 booster vaccination before 2022

According to Aged Care 101, in reassuring news for aged care residents, families and staff, the Australian Government’s COVID-19 vaccine booster program for over 160,000 residential aged care residents, plus staff, is in full swing.

COVID-19 webinars for aged care workers in WA and TAS now online

According to the Department of Health, the last in a series of special COVID-19 webinars for in-home and community aged care workers across Australia are now available online. Recordings of the live events for workers in Western Australia and Tasmania are available:

COVID-19 webinar for in-home and community aged care workers in Western Australia

COVID-19 webinar for in-home and community aged care workers in Tasmania

Webinars have already taken place for the ACT, NSW, NT, QLD, SA and VIC and can be found on the department's website. The webinars cover topics such as:

• why it is so important to get vaccinated against COVID-19
• how the COVID-19 vaccination mandate in a worker’s state or territory applies to them
• how workers can access priority vaccinations
• how workers will be supported to be vaccinated by their workplace
• grant opportunities available for employers to support their workers to get vaccinated
• some of reasons workers might feel hesitant about getting vaccinated and how they can be reassured.

Each webinar includes around 30 minutes of Q&A discussion covering questions submitted by workers.

Other News

Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission Bulletin – Nov 2021

The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission’s November bulletin covers:

• Preparing for an emergency event
• Aged care services operating in a COVID-normal world
• Approved provider application fee now applies
• Have your say on current Department of Health public consultations
• Important updates for home services providers
• From the Chief Clinical Advisor – antimicrobial stewardship and catheters
• Share your feedback about Alis with us
• New Commission workshop on the Serious Incident Response Scheme
• New guidance on electronic residential medication chart management systems
• New and updated Commission resources

Aged Care Alert: Have your say: New guiding principles on continuity in medication management

According to the Department of Health, medication management involves the selection, prescribing, reviewing, administering, disposing and evaluation of medication use. Are you involved in medication management at transitions of care? We are updating the national quality use of medicines (QUM) publication on continuity in medication management and we would like your input.

The department has engaged the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care to review and update the national QUM publication - Guiding principles to achieve continuity in medication management (2005). These guiding principles support medication management across the continuum of care and are focused on person-centred care.

A survey will lead you through a series of questions so you can provide your comments.

Please submit your feedback by 20 December 2021.

Your input will inform the publication's review. It is expected to be finalised and published in 2022.

For more information, email us at medsafety@safetyandquality.gov.au

National Aged Care Advisory Council members announced

According to Inside Ageing, seventeen prominent Australians will provide advice on aged care issues and the implementation of the Government’s $17.7 billion reform agenda in response to the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety.

Sharp decline in ACFI audits

According to Australian Ageing Agenda, the health department reviewed a fraction of residential aged care funding claims last financial year compared to previous year, but the proportion of funding downgrades remained steady. The Department of Health reviewed 1,127 Aged Care Funding Instrument claims in 2020-21. It reduced funding in 38 per cent of cases (431) and only increased finding in two (0.2 per cent), according to the 2020-21 Report on the Operation of the Aged Care Act report released on Friday.

Legislation

Medicines, Poisons and Therapeutic Goods Legislation Amendment Bill 2021 (No. 34 of 2021) – passed 1 December 2021

The purpose of this Bill is to allow the Northern Territory to implement a Real Time Prescription Monitoring system. Real Time Script Monitoring provides relevant prescribers and pharmacists with information about a patient’s history and use of monitored medicines at the time of issuing a prescription or supplying the medicine. The real time patient information supports prescribers and pharmacists in making clinical decisions about appropriate medication use, which can reduce overuse or misuse of medication and risk of accidental deaths.

Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill 2021 [NSW] – passed Assembly 26 November 2021

A Private Member's Bill for an Act to provide for, and regulate access to, voluntary assisted dying for persons with a terminal illness; to establish the Voluntary Assisted Dying Board; and to make consequential amendments to other Acts.