Aged care news highlights from the week ending 5 November 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

Govt accepts COVID review recommendations

According to Australian Ageing Agenda, phasing out shared bedrooms and bathrooms and coaching to enhance managers’ leadership skills are among the 38 recommendations of an independent review of COVID-19 in aged care, all of which the government has committed to implementing to better prepare the sector for future outbreaks. The Independent Review of COVID-19 Outbreaks in Australian Residential Aged Care Facilities final report released on Tuesday outlines nine key lines of defence to minimise risk of COVID-19 outbreaks. It makes 38 recommendations, which have all been accepted by the Federal Government.

Review into COVID‑19 outbreaks in aged care

(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, in a joint statement today, the Minister for Health and Aged Care, the Hon Greg Hunt MP, and the Minister for Senior Australians and Aged Care Services, Senator the Hon Richard Colbeck have released the Independent Review of COVID‑19 Outbreaks in Australian Residential Aged Care Facilities, prepared by Professor Lyn Gilbert and Adjunct Professor Alan Lilly.

The Morrison Government has accepted all 38 recommendations from this review into COVID‑19 outbreaks. The review will underpin continued improvements as the Government and aged care sector prioritise the health and wellbeing of senior Australians in care. You can read the Government's response to the independent review on the department's website.

Aged care vaccine booster program underway

According to Australian Ageing Agenda, Victorian aged care provider TLC Healthcare has begun providing COVID-19 vaccine booster shots to its residents and staff today, as the government confirms the national booster program prioritising aged care residents will kick off Monday week. Minister for Health and Aged Care Greg Hunt said the national booster program will commence on 8 November after the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation approved Pfizer booster doses for Australians aged 18 and over today.

Aged care advocates criticise government over bizarre vaccine rule

According to Aged Care Insite, there are fears Victoria’s elderly may be put at risk as the state opens up, with the government refusing to mandate vaccines for those visiting aged care facilities. The decision has received widespread condemnation from the industry, with some calling it “bizarre” and questioning why hairdressers could only have vaccinated clients but aged care did not have a similar rule. Visits to facilities still remain restricted, but those who enter are not required to be vaccinated.

Single site workforce arrangements are ending in NSW and the ACT on 15 November

According to the Department of Health, further to the decision of the Commonwealth Chief Medical Officer, Professor Paul Kelly, to declare the hotspots in NSW and the ACT over on 17 and 18 October 2021 respectively, the situation in these areas has continued to stablise. On the advice of the Chief Medical Officer, in consultation with the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee, it is now appropriate for residential aged care providers in these areas to commence transitioning out of single site arrangements.

This transition should occur over the next two weeks, with the end of single site employment on 15 November 2021, after which time workers can return to usual working arrangements. Providers must stay informed with any public health measures for these areas which can be found on NSW and ACT government websites.

The Chief Medical Officer announced the cessation of the Commonwealth hotspot for Victoria on 31 October 2021. The Commonwealth with Victoria will closely monitor levels of community transmission over the coming weeks and will provide further advice in due course on when single site arrangements will cease and providers can commence transition staff back to usual working arrangements.

New Directions for Aged Care Visits in Victoria

According to Lexology, last Friday 29 October, Victoria moved to Phase C of the National Plan: the Vaccination Consolidation Phase. The focus of Phase C is to minimise serious illness, hospitalisations and fatalities as a result of COVID-19 with baseline restrictions. As part of the shift to baseline restrictions, restrictions on visitation in Victorian residential aged care facilities have relaxed.

Other News

Strategies to tackle retention, workforce issues

According to Australian Ageing Agenda, aged care providers should adapt to the needs of workers and provide job security to retain quality staff, according to a workforce council report collating a decade of research on the voices of aged care workers. The Aged Care Industry Workforce Council report Aged Care Workforce Narrative analyses the insights of 109,000 aged care employees collected in the Aged Care Census Database from 2009 to 2019. The report presents the findings under 12 themes reflecting key workforce issues such as recruiting and retaining quality staff, turnover risk and fair workloads and pay.

Nationwide pilot to trial new quality indicators in aged care

According to Hospital and Healthcare, aged-care providers throughout Australia will have the opportunity to volunteer to be involved in a nationwide aged-care quality indicators pilot trial, set to commence in January 2022. A national consortium including SAHMRI’s Registry of Senior Australians (ROSA), the University of Queensland and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) is set to launch the trial as part of the Australian Government’s response to the final recommendations made by the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety.

Resident care and provider reputation among top reasons staff stay in aged care: ACWIC report

According to Aged Care Insite, the opportunity to engage, interact and support older people is the key motivator keeping aged care workers in the industry, according to a new workforce report. Drawing on insights from over 109,000 aged care employees, the Aged Care Workforce Narrative profiled the motivations and opinions of past and current staff. Along with resident and client interaction, it was found that location and the reputation of an organisation were among the top reasons people were attracted to an employer.

Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission Bulletin – October 2021

This edition of the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission Bulletin covers:

• Update on our approved provider application fee public consultation
• From Dr Melanie Wroth, Chief Clinical Advisor
• Our latest ‘Sector performance report’ is available
• Reminder – SIRS Priority 2 incidents are now also reportable
• Free Alis licence period extended to 1 July 2022
• Our joint webinar series with the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia
• Free course about providing culturally responsive care to older people
• New and updated Commission resources

Unspent funds hit $10k per client

According to Community Care Review, unspent home care funds are continuing to rise exponentially and the recent change to payment in arrears is unlikely make a dint in the upward trajectory, an aged care finance forum has been told. Unspent funds now represent almost $10,000 per client – or a total of $1.6 billion, StewartBrown senior partner Grant Corderoy revealed during the benchmarking firm’s 2021 Aged Care Finance Forum last week.

Aged Care Emergency and Crisis Management Training Program 2021 – Group and 1-2-1 Mentoring Now Available

(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, a reminder that the Aged Care Emergency and Crisis Management Training Program 2021 is now available and is free for all participants.

RiskLogic and First 5 Minutes, funded by the Australian Government Department of Health, have developed a tailored program targeted at aged care provider senior leadership, to cover core aspects of risk and emergency/crisis response preparedness.

The Program combines a series of self-paced eLearning modules and group‑based/1‑2‑1 mentoring to help you build or strengthen emergency and crisis management leadership skills. This can help better prepare your organisation to maintain the delivery of safe and quality care in challenging situations.

The mentoring component of the program has now commenced – with additional group mentoring session dates in November now available for sign-up via the registration page.

You can still visit the RiskLogic website to find further information and sign-up.

Legislation

No significant developments this week.