Major Aged Care Reforms in 2024: What to expect
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Weekly Wrap: August 11, 2019

13/08/19
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Aged care news highlights from the week ending 11 August 2019.

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 and Critical Success Solutions.


Report shows almost all facilities failed review audit

According to Australian Ageing Agenda, medication management remains the top reason behind complaints in residential aged care but human resource management is the most frequently unmet outcome during audits, new data from the sector’s regulator shows. Of the 2,227 complaints made to the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission between January and March 2019, almost three-quarters were for residential aged care (1,633), a quarter were for home care (562) and the rest for other services (35), according to the commission’s sector performance report released last week. Just as for the previous six months, the top issue for residential aged care complaints in the first quarter of 2019 was medication management (238). This was followed by falls prevention and post-fall management (164), personnel numbers and ratios (175), personnel behaviour and conduct (137) and continence management (115).

Students regard aged care as ‘just a job, not a career’

According to The Australian, when young Australians were asked whether they had considered jobs caring for the nation’s oldest citizens, the answer was a resounding no. A survey of 500 tertiary students 18 to 23 found 62 per cent would not consider a career in the aged-care sector. More than half say they consider working with the elderly as a job, not a career, while 46 per cent say they had no experience with old people. The YouGov Galaxy poll was commissioned by the not-for-profit aged-care sector in the face of a looming crisis in the workforce. A federal government taskforce estimates the sector will need tens of thousands more workers by 2050 to accommodate a tripling of aged-care residents.

Group begins workforce transformation

According to Australian Ageing Agenda, work has commenced to progress the strategic actions of the aged care workforce strategy and disrupt the status quo, the workforce industry council has announced. The Aged Care Workforce Industry Council is working to prioritise and progress the 14 strategic actions of Australia’s Aged Care Workforce Strategy developed by Professor John Pollaers and the Aged Care Workforce Strategy Taskforce in 2018.The council is made up of industry leaders representing providers, workers and consumers and aims to provide the leadership required to accelerate implementation of the strategic actions and the workforce’s transition to new standards.

Earle Haven Retirement village (aged care) at the Royal Commission – nobody wins

According to The Weekly Source, yesterday was a very sad day for retirement village and aged care operators, many staff and government bureaucrats. To say everybody looked ‘bad’ is an understatement. The Earle Haven debacle is a dispute over money by two business operators that both have ‘history’. This article summarises the events surrounding the abrupt closure of the Earle Haven Retirement village and the response of the Aged Care Royal Commission.

How and where older Australians want to live

According to The New Daily, a report released on Wednesday by the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI) sheds light on older Australians’ housing aspirations. The research found 80 per cent of older Australians want to live in a home they own, no matter the type, size or location. Older Australians most commonly want to live in the middle or outer suburbs of a city. This aspiration increases with age. Among those aged between 55 and 74, there was also a strong aspiration to live in small regional towns. Those aged 75 and over were more likely to indicate a preference for the inner suburbs of a capital city. Few older Australians wanted to live in the CBD of a capital city. Over two-thirds of older Australians want to live in a standalone house. The remaining third prefers an attached dwelling, apartment or alternative such as an ancillary dwelling – for example, a mobile home or granny flat.

Bankers lead push to curb financial abuse of the elderly

According to The New Daily, greed and an impatience for inheritance are fuelling financial abuse of the elderly in Australia, according to the peak banking body. To combat the growing problem of elder financial abuse, the Australian Banking Association (ABA) has repeated its calls on the federal government to establish a national register of power-of-attorney documents. It has also proposed a new service to field and deal with complaints about financial abuse, revealing that an estimated one in 10 older Australians experiences elder abuse in any given year.

Legislation

Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill 2019 (WA) – Introduced 7 August 2019

Introduced to the WA Legislative Assembly, the purpose of this Bill is to provide for and regulate access to voluntary assisted dying; and to establish the Voluntary Assisted Dying Board; and to make consequential amendments to other Acts.

Resources and Upcoming Conferences

Online resources to help you get to know the Standards & Clinical Governance Resources now Available

The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission is currently developing two new online solutions to support learning about the new Standards - an online learning portal named ALIS (Aged Care Learning Information Solution) and an app which will be available for download through the App Store and Google Play. ALIS will be available later this year, with initial modules focused on the new Standards. Content is planned to be expanded to help aged care service providers to:

  • demonstrate performance against the Aged Care Quality Standards;
  • deliver safe and quality care and services; and
  • demonstrate tangible positive outcomes for consumers.

The Commission has also released a set of resources to help aged care providers to understand the concept of clinical governance and how this should be applied in their service.

Uploading Data Collection Template: Quick Reference Guide for CHSP providers

The My Aged Care Provider Portal will open from 22 July until 11.59pm AEST 23 October 2019 for Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP) providers to upload the grandfathered client data collection template. The Department of Health has released a Quick Reference Guide that explains how to upload the data collection template into the My Aged Care Provider Portal and select the services each client receives.

Quality in Aged Care National Conference – 26-29 August 2019, Sydney

According to Australian Ageing Agenda, the Quality in Aged Care Conference running in Sydney from the 26th – 29th August is once again brought to you in partnership with COTA Australia and ACSA. Following a gathering of over 200 leaders at the previous in March 2019, this next conference offers insights into the next chapter of aged care reform. It is a critical opportunity for all providers of aged care services to learn from industry leaders, peak bodies and legislators and prepare their organisations for some of the biggest challenges facing the industry, including the Royal Commission and the new standards.

Crossing the Chasm - From Compliance to Innovative Dining Solutions – Webinar – 29 August 2019

According to Winc, a poor meal and dining experience can not only have a detrimental impact on a resident’s emotional well-being but it can also lead to malnutrition resulting in increased risk of falls, illness, injury, reduced quality of life and premature death. In this webinar, Jo Cleary will discuss her solutions of how we can address this issue and better utilise food and labour resources. She’ll include novel and practical solutions that you can implement immediately.

Health Metrics 2019 World Conference – 29-30 August, Melbourne

According to Health Metrics, the 2019 conference entitled “Adapt and Align to New Thinking”, will inform and engage providers of aged care, retirement living, primary health care, home and disability care. Industry leaders and service-providers are invited to hear the latest on Technology & Innovation, Leadership & Management, Quality & Standards, Analytics & Reporting, Government, Policy and the Royal Commission.

Living and Ageing Well Conference – 17 September 2019, Grand Hyatt Melbourne

According to Pearson Clinical Assessment, the overarching goal of clinical intervention when working with older people, regardless of diagnosis, is to improve the person’s quality of life. Whether you work with older adults in their own home and community, in a hospital, outpatient setting or in a residential aged care facility, there are strategies you could be using in your interventions to further enhance your clients’ quality of life. At this conference, we’ll share valuable insights and strategies from industry experts. And we’ll workshop tools designed to help you apply holistic care to older adults with a range of diagnoses, across many settings, with a goal of improving the quality of life for older adults.

ACSA National Summit – 8-10 October 2019, Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre

Aged and Community Services Australia (ACSA) is hosting the 2019 ACSA National Summit, to be held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC), 8–10 October 2019. The 2019 ACSA National Summit will bring together thought leaders and innovators – both local and international – to discuss hot topics, challenges and opportunities, workshopping together to uncover solutions to some of the aged care industry’s biggest challenges.

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About the Author

ACE Editorial Team

ACE is published by Ideagen. CompliSpace is Ideagen’s SaaS-enabled solution that helps organisations in highly-regulated industries to meet their governance, risk, compliance and policy management obligations.

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