Aged care news highlights from the week ending 03 June 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

Leadership and governance during a COVID-19 outbreak

According to the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission, effective leadership and governance within a provider organisation will greatly increase its chances of successfully managing a COVID-19 outbreak, according to the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commissioner Janet Anderson.

The Commissioner spoke at a recent webinar hosted jointly by the Commission and the Department of Health which discussed Aged Care Quality Standard 8, Organisational governance, and the systems and processes which need to be in place before the start of an outbreak.

Other News

New aged care ministers sworn in by PM Albanese

According to Aged Care Insite, Mark Butler has been named as the new Federal Minister for Health and Aged Care. The deputy leader of the lower house was sworn in on Wednesday along with Queensland MP Anika Wells, who was appointed Minister for Aged Care and Sport. Butler, who has acted as Labor's health spokesperson since 2021, was previously minister for Ageing and Aged Care under the Rudd and Gillard Labor governments.

Ensuring the right AN-ACC classification for aged care residents

According to the Department of Health, with only 4 months until the Aged Care Funding Instrument (ACFI) is replaced by the Australian National Aged Care Classification (AN-ACC), it is important for providers to ensure each resident in their care is given the right AN-ACC classification as this will determine the level of funding you will receive to meet their individual care needs. Changes to individual resident classifications may also change your care minutes target for your facility.

If a resident’s care needs have changed significantly since their initial AN-ACC assessment and they meet the criteria, you can request a reclassification in the My Aged Care Service Provider Portal. Please submit any requests for reclassifications early, to allow assessments to be completed before 1 October 2022.

Webinar: Update on aged care funding reform activities

The Department of Health is hosting a free webinar on funding reform for aged care executives, including CEOs, CFOs, finance and account managers, quality and assurance managers and residential aged care facility managers. 

This is an opportunity to find out more and ask questions about:  

• Australian National Aged Care Classification (AN-ACC) and care minutes – prior to the webinar, providers are encouraged to watch the 38-minute presentation onTransitioning from ACFI to AN-ACC and Care Minutes and read the Q&As from the recent AN-ACC roadshow
• Quarterly Financial Reporting
• Basic Daily Fee  –  food and nutrition reporting
• eNRMC Transitional Arrangements, and
• Services Australia system replacement impact and AN-ACC technical documentation.

The webinar will be held on 7 June 2022 from 3.30pm to 5.00pm AEST. To register and learn more about the webinar visit the department’s website. If you have any questions or need help accessing the webinar please contact communication.agedcare@health.gov.au

Workers enter fourth week of strike action over pay

According to Australian Ageing Agenda, BlueCare aged care workers walked off the job on Thursday and marched to the provider’s head office in Brisbane’s city centre where they staged a protest over low pay. The action came after workers rejected an offer of a 2 per cent wage increase made by BlueCare’s parent company Uniting Church.

Auslan interpreting services for older Australians contacting My Aged Care

According to the Department of Health, support is now available to assist older Australians to contact My Aged Care through a free Auslan video interpreting service. This includes tactile signing or hand over hand interpreting.

To learn more about the new sign language interpreting service, and other accessible services, visit the My Aged Care website. You can also access our Auslan-captioned introduction video, which shows you how My Aged Care can help you find Australian Government-funded aged care services. Watch the video on YouTube.

OPAN webinar: Diversity and inclusion in aged care

According to the Department of Health, to launch its new Diversity Education Program, the Older Persons Advocacy Network (OPAN) will host a webinar on diversity and inclusion in aged care at 11.30am‑12.30pm AEST on Tuesday 7 June.

Register for the Diversity and inclusion in aged care webinar.

Suicide Prevention for Seniors Program (NSW)

According to the Department of Health: would you know what to do if someone you support was experiencing thoughts of suicide? Anglicare’s Suicide Prevention for Seniors Program equips aged care workers with the knowledge to help prevent suicide.The program is funded by the NSW Government. To be eligible, you need to be working with older people and based in NSW.

If you are interested, please email Program Coordinator Nancy Gewargis at nancy.gewargis@anglicare.org.au or visit the Anglicare website.

Vision Australia webinar: Understanding low vision and blindness

According to the Department of Health, Vision Australia is hosting a webinar at 2-3pm AEST on Thursday 16 June about understanding the impacts of vision loss and blindness. Tailored for assessors within a Regional Assessment Service or Aged Care Assessment Team, this session will build your knowledge and confidence to discuss appropriate supports and goals with vision-impaired clients when completing assessments.

Register for the Vision Australia webinar.

Webinar: Technological solutions for residents in aged care

According to the Department of Health, join Swinburne’s Wellbeing Clinic for Older Adults for their upcoming free webinar on ageing.

The webinar will be held at 4.45–6pm AEST on Friday 10 June. It is aimed at people employed in aged care, as well as psychologists, social workers, counsellors and volunteers who work with older adults. Michelle Eunson from Vision Australia will provide an overview of smart home programs and adaptive technologies to support the independence and social inclusion of older Australians.

Find out more information and register for the webinar.

Influenza treatment deployed to residential aged care

According to the Department of Health, the department has begun deployment of prescription-only medication, Tamiflu (oseltamivir), an oral antiviral used to treat and prevent influenza A and B infections, to residential aged care facilities (RACFs) in a one-off pre-placement. This is part of our 2022 winter preparedness plan. This stock is being distributed to ensure access to supplies at the start of this year’s flu season. RACFs will need to source additional supply through community pharmacies in line with normal arrangements once the pre-placed stock has been used.

Read more on the department’s website.

Information for providers yet to upgrade to Services Australia’s Aged Care Online web services

According to the Department of Health, providers have until 30 June 2022 to transition to web services. Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) certificates will expire on this date and access using Adaptor technology will end.

Providers who have not yet transitioned to web services should continue to work with their developer to complete their transition before 30 June 2022.

Providers need to allow up to 10 days for activation of their web services device after they have submitted a completed registration form. Your software developer can help you complete the Register or update for Aged Care Web Services form (AC027).

Reminder - Aged Care Emergency and Crisis Management Training Program available until 30 June 2022

(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, providers are reminded that online training modules covering aged care emergency and crisis management leadership training remain available until 30 June 2022 – with new registrations being accepted until the end of May 2022 - register now online.

Importantly, the training retains particular relevance in the context of preparing for and responding to a range current and recent issues impacting the sector, including:

• major flooding events across south-east Queensland and northern New South Wales
• ongoing COVID-19 outbreaks
• the 2022 influenza season.

Targeted at senior leaders of aged care providers, the self-paced online modules are available now and are completely free for participants, with over 1,820 registrations to date. Participants who finish all modules will be able to print off a transcript upon completion of the course.

Peak body renews calls for allied health funding

According to Australian Ageing Agenda, Allied Health Professions Australia has called for extra government funding so that aged care homes can access more hours of allied health services. While welcoming the Labor Government’s support of a workforce wage increase and its commitment to providing nurses onsite 24/7, AHPA said it has yet to address the ongoing allied health crisis in aged care.

Study shows benefits of on-site pharmacists

According to Australian Ageing Agenda, new research from the University of South Australia shows an acute need for additional pharmaceutical support within the aged care sector. Lead researcher Professor Libby Roughead said, currently, residents only receive a medication review every two years, or earlier if required. “Our research highlights the need for personalised and continuing support by pharmacists more frequently.”

Crisis: Care providers lose money and cannot attract staff to meet regulatory levels

According to The Senior, the crisis in Australia's aged care sector is increasing with providers losing money and unable to attract workers to meet coming regulatory staffing requirements. A report by the University of Technology Sydney shows 63 per cent of aged care homes are operating at a loss compared to 52 per cent last year.

Poor eyesight linked to ‘devastating’ cognitive misdiagnosis

According to Aged Care Insite, new research has found that older people with poor eyesight might be mistakenly diagnosed with cognitive impairment.

Legislation

Poisons Standard June 2022 [CTH] – commenced 1 June 2022

The purpose of this instrument is to make a new Poisons Standard, the Poisons Standard June 2022, in substitution for the previous Poisons Standard, the Poisons Standard February 2022. The Poisons Standard June 2022 repeals and replaces the Poisons Standard February 2022, principally to incorporate a number of changes to existing entries, and to include a number of specified substances in the Poisons Standard for the first time. A number of these changes were made following the provision of advice from the ACCS or the ACMS, in accordance with the procedures set out in Subdivision 3D.2 of Part 6 of the Therapeutic Goods Regulations 1990 for amending the Poisons Standard when a proposed amendment is referred to an expert advisory committee.