Aged Care Assessment Teams
ACAT CHAT - Summer 2009
Welcome to Volume 28 of ACAT Chat.
You may download this document in PDF format:
PDF printable version of ACAT CHAT - Summer 2009 (PDF 125 KB)
Welcome to Volume 28 of the ACAT Chat
Well another year has flown by and what a very busy year it has been.It started with the new Aged Care Assessment Program (ACAP) National Delegation Training Resources being successfully implemented, with many of you using the eLearning option. We are well underway in updating the ACAP National Orientation Training Resources, giving you similar training options to what is available in the ACAP National Delegation Training Resources .
The middle of the year was extremely busy with implementing the legislation changes to the Aged Care Act 1997 that were designed to reduce ACATs workload in undertaking unnecessary reassessments.
We also held two very successful workshops for the ACAT Education Officers, in May and November. ACATs were able to network and share their experiences with other Education Officers.
Looking ahead, 2010 will be another busy year with the second National ACAP Conference being held in Melbourne on 20-21 May 2010. You can read more about the Conference on page 5.
Also, in the new year we plan to implement the updated version of the ACAP National Orientation Training Resources and also to release our DVD Introduction to Administrative Law presented by Marlene Hall, Senior Legal Advisor, Department of Health and Ageing.
Have a Merry Christmas and a great New Year.
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Inside this issue:
ACAT Chat contactsACAT Information sheet
What to do when a care recipient doesn’t respond to a scheduled visit
Assessing Fitness to Drive
Charter of Rights & Responsibilities for Community Care
Update to the Residential Care Manual
Update details for ACAT Finder
National ACAP Conference 2010
Australian Government White Paper on Homelessness
Forgotten Australians and Former Child Migrants
Rural Health Education Foundation broadcast
Changes to ACFI definition
ACAP contacts
ACAT Information Sheet—Translated Versions
The ACAT Information Sheet - ‘How ACATs can help you’ - is now available in 16 different languages and can be downloaded from the ACAT specific website.http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/ageing-publicats-multi.htm
Alternatively, go to www.health.gov.au > click on the “For Consumers” tab > scroll down to “Ageing” > and click “Support for people with special needs” from the menu options on the left.
The languages include:
Arabic
Chinese
Croatian
Dutch
German
Greek
Hungarian
Italian
Macedonian
Maltese
Polish
Russian
Serbian
Spanish
Tagalog
Vietnamese
Your feedback on these translated documents would be greatly appreciated, especially if you find any discrepancies with the actual translations. Please contact Annette Sharpe (02) 6289 4584.
If you would like to order hard copies, please contact
National Mailing and Marketing
Telephone: (02) 6269 1080 Fax: (02) 6260 2770
Email: NMM@nationalmailing.com.au
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ACAT CHAT contacts
ACAT CHAT provides ACAT members with updates on the program from a National perspective. We would like to encourage our regional members to share information of interest from their local area.Informative articles and experiences give members a chance to connect with their interstate counterparts.
Your feedback, contributions and suggestions for articles to ACAT CHAT, are most welcome. Staff of the Department of Health and Ageing respond to all correspondence, promptly.
Please forward any contributions to either of the following contact points:
Email: acats@health.gov.au
Mail: ACAT CHAT
Aged Care Assessment Program Section
Department of Health and Ageing
MDP 32
GPO Box 9848
CANBERRA ACT 2601
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A Guide for Community Care Service Providers on how to respond when a care recipient does not respond to a
scheduled visit.
Background
As part of the development of nationally consistent protocols to deal with non-response from a client when a community care worker arrives to provide a scheduled service, in June 2008 the Ministerial Conference on Ageing (MCA) agreed that a Guide for Community Care Service Providers on how to respond when a client does not respond to a scheduled visit should be developed and implemented across jurisdictions. In August 2009, the draft Guide was finalised, and a paper was submitted to the MCA for noting of the Guide and approval of its implementation. At the 11 September 2009 MCA meeting, Ministers agreed the Guide should be implemented.Implementation
There will be a need to incorporate the Guide requirements into the relevant standards, operational frameworks and program guidelines for all community care programs:Home and Community Care (HACC) Program, Community Aged Care Packages (CACPs), Extended Aged Care at Home (EACH) and EACH Dementia (EACHD) packages, and the National Respite for Carers Program (NRCP).
There is also a need for each community care service provider to develop and implement procedures over the next 12 months. Some community care service providers already have procedures in place that comply with the national guideline, others will need to develop and implement procedures.
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Assessing Fitness to Drive
Deb Ryan, Ros Ashby and Vicky Stewart, the Victorian ACAT Education Officers, recently organised a dementia study day for new ACAT assessors. One of the invited speakers, Meg Marmo, an Occupational Therapist, is very experienced in assessing older people with cognitive impairments and driving.Meg alerted them to a publication from Austroads called :
Assessing Fitness to Drive for Commercial and Private Vehicle Drivers (Sept 2003).
It contains the medical standards for licensing and clinical management guidelines and is a resource for health professionals in Australia.
Under the Medical Standards for Licensing-Neurological Disorders, Dementia and other Cognitive Impairments for private vehicle drivers, it states that the criteria for an unconditional licence are NOT met if there is:
- significant impairment of memory, visuospatial skills, insight or judgement; or
- problematic hallucinations or delusions.
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Charter of Rights and Responsibilities for Community Care
On the 10 October 2008 the Minister for Ageing, the Hon Justine Elliot MP, announced the Australian Government would develop a Charter of Rights and Responsibilities for Community Care (the Charter).The Charter became law on 1 October 2009.
The Charter has been developed for people in receipt of Australian Government funded packages legislated under the Aged Care Act 1997, namely Community Aged Care Packages, Extended Aged Care at Home and Extended Aged Care at Home Dementia packages.
The Charter is a simple but historic document that articulates the rights and responsibilities of older Australians receiving community care packages. The introduction of the Charter is a significant step forward in explaining the rights of people receiving aged care services in the community, as well as their responsibilities, including their responsibilities towards care workers.
The Charter contains a range of rights and responsibilities including, that a care recipient has a right:
- to be involved in identifying the community care most appropriate for their needs;
- to choose the care and services that best meet their assessed needs, from the community care able to be provided and within the limits of the resources available;
- to be given a copy of the Charter;
- to be offered a written agreement that covers all agreed matters; and to be given information on how to make comments and complaints about the care and services they receive.
Copies of the Charter are available electronically on the Department of Health and Ageing website at http://health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/ageing-charter-rights.htm
Additional copies of the Charter may be ordered from National Mailing and Marketing on 02 6269 1060 and through email on health@nationalmailing.com.au
If you have any enquiries regarding the Charter please contact the Aged Care Information Line on freecall 1800 500 853.
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Update to the Residential Care Manual
The Residential Care Manual has been updated and revised to help approved service providers comply with their responsibilities under the Aged Care Act 1997 and to assist staff of aged care services understand the regulation of residential aged care.Australian Government–subsidised residential aged care services providers are currently being sent hard copies of the Manual.
You may download this document in PDF format
http://health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/ageing-manuals-rcm-rcmindx1.htm
Note: An HTML version of this document is being prepared. If you are unable to access this document, please
contact Christine Kearney on (02) 6289 5293 or Amanda Jane Gillin on (02) 6289 5857 to discuss an
alternative version.
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Update details for ACAT Finder
The ACAT Finder is part of the Department of Health and Ageing Aged Care Australia web site (www.agedcareaustralia.gov.au). The ACAT contact details on the website are taken from the Commonwealth Carelink Centers Information System (CCCIS) database. The nature of the content of the Aged Care Australia web site means many visitors to the site are potentially interested in ACAT information.ACAT Managers are asked to ensure your contact details are currently with your local Commonwealth Respite and Carelink Centre—Phone 1800 052 222.
Please do not provide a personal email address for release on this website.
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National ACAP Conference 2010
Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre
20-21 May 2010
www.acap2010.com.auThe Department of Health and Ageing is pleased to invite nominated Aged Care Assessment Team (ACAT) members to the National Aged Care Assessment Program (ACAP) Conference, to be held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre from Thursday 20 to Friday 21 May 2010.
The Conference theme is ACAP 2010: Respect, Recognition, Responsibilities.
Call for Papers is now open!
Abstract submission deadline 18 January 2010
The Organising Committee invites you to submit an abstract or poster of original research for presentation at the National Aged Care Assessment Program Conference.
Please read the abstract guidelines on the website www.acap2010.com.au for full details including topics.
Registration
The Australian Government will cover the cost of registration for ACAT members nominated to attend the conference. Please contact your local ACAT manager if you are interested in attending the Conference. Further information on the registration process will be made available on this website.Key dates
| Abstract submissions for Papers/Posters deadline | 18 January 2010 |
| Online Registrations Open | February 2010 |
| Review and selection of Abstracts | February 2010 |
| Notification of acceptance of Paper/Poster abstracts | February 2010 |
| ACAP Conference | 20-21 May 2010 |
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People who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless
In the Australian Government White Paper on Homelessness, the Road Home—A National Approach to Reducing Homelessness (December 2008), the Australian Government made an undertaking to amend aged care legislation to recognise older people who are homeless as a special needs group. The Allocation Principles 1997 were amended on 1 June 2009 to include “people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless” as a special needs group for the purposes of the Aged Care Act 1997.The Road Home cites the following definition of homelessness:
- Primary homelessness—includes all people without conventional accommodation , such as people living on the streets, sleeping in parks, squatting in derelict buildings or using cars or railway carriages for temporary shelter;
- Secondary homelessness—includes people who move frequently from one form of temporary shelter to another. On census night, it includes all people staying in emergency or transitional accommodation provided under the Supported Accommodation Assistance Program (SAAP). Secondary homelessness also includes people residing temporarily with other households because they have no accommodation of their own and people staying in boarding houses on a short-term basis, operationally defined as 12 weeks or less; and
- Tertiary homelessness—refers to people who live in boarding houses on a medium to long-term basis, operationally defined as 13 weeks or longer. They are homeless because their accommodation situation is below the minimum community standard of a small self-contained flat.
Proposals for a specialist residential aged care service for people who are homeless or at risk of becoming
homeless will be sought for the 2009-10 Aged Care Approvals Round.
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Care Leavers (Forgotten Australians and Former Child Migrants)
On 16 November 2009 the Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, delivered an apology to the ‘forgotten Australians and former child migrants’.Through an amendment to the Allocations Principles 1997, this group, known as ‘care leavers’, has formerly been identified as a new special needs group under the aged care legislation, which also includes for example, people who are financially or socially disadvantaged, and people from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
A care leaver is a person who has experienced childhood in an institution or out-of-home care environment, also known as ‘forgotten Australians and former child migrants’.
The Australian Government will ensure that the needs of care leavers are considered in the planning and allocation of aged care places, and by support to the aged and community care sector so that service providers and carers recognise the special needs of care leavers and provide appropriate and responsive
care.
This will include raising awareness of the difficulties associated with dealing with the particular physical, psychological, social and health related care needs of this special needs group.
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ACAP to Feature in a Program for
Rural Health Professionals
An opportunity for Rural Health Professionals to learn more about the Aged Care Assessment Program will be available early in the New Year.The Rural Health Education Foundation (RHEF) will broadcast a one hour panel discussion on the Aged Care Assessment Program (ACAP) on 23 February 2010 to over 660 sites across rural and remote Australia. The broadcast is part of RHEF’s ongoing work to provide Continuing Professional Education (CPE) to Health Professionals who would otherwise struggle to meet their CPE requirements.
The ACAP broadcast will give rural and remote area doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, psychologists and other health professionals accurate and up-to-date information about the ACAP. After watching the broadcast, these professionals will be able to:
- undertake an appropriate referral to an Aged Care Assessment Team;
- describe the process and benefits of a multidisciplinary assessment ;
- effectively manage the challenges of aged care assessment and referral in rural and remote Australia; and
- describe recent developments and new initiatives in aged care assessment.
RHEF presents a range of CPE programs for rural and remote health professionals, usually by satellite broadcast to viewing sites around Australia. Professionals who attend the broadcast receive CPE credit from their respective professional organisation or registration authority.
Details of the viewing sites and the timing of broadcasts are available on the RHEF website at www.rhef.com.au. Programs can also be downloaded from the site or obtained on DVD after a broadcast has gone to air.
The ACAP broadcast will take place on Tuesday 23 February 2010 at these times:
| ACT/NSW/VIC/TAS | 8.00pm |
| SA | 7.30pm |
| QLD | 7.00pm |
| NT | 6.30pm |
| WA | 5.00pm |
| ACT/NSW/VIC/TAS | 12.30pm |
| SA | 12:00noon |
| QLD | 11.30am |
| NT | 11.00am |
| WA | 9.30am |
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Changes to the ACFI Definition of High Care
From 1 January 2010, the definition for High Care under the Aged Care Funding Instrument (ACFI) will be changed to make it much more like it was before the ACFI was introduced.An unintended consequence of the introduction of the ACFI is that some residents that would have previously been appraised by providers as Low Care are now being appraised as High Care.
Subsidies have increased for many of these residents, which is a positive and intended outcome. However, in some cases it has resulted in aged care homes having to provide specified care and services that they are not equipped to provide and that their residents do not need.
This anomaly has also increased the level of misalignment between ACAT assessments and ACFI appraisals by providers, increasing the need for ACAT reassessments and leading to an increase in the proportion of residents classified and paid at the default “Interim Low” rate (currently $44.98 per day). These are residents who have an ACAT approval limited to Low Care but are appraised by the provider into a High ACFI care category.
In the May 2009 Budget, the Government announced action to address this anomaly in the new arrangements by modifying the definition of High Care. Extensive consultations have been held with consumers, providers and health professionals through the ACFI Technical Reference Group, the ACFI Industry Reference Group and the Ageing Consultative Committee. The proposed approach has been endorsed by each of these committees.
What will the new definition look like?
Under the current definition, to be appraised under the ACFI as a High Care, the resident must have a score of:- Medium or high in the ADL Domain; or
- High in the Behaviour Domain; or
- Medium or High in CHC Domain.
- a score of High in the ADL Domain; or
- a score of High in the CHC Domain; or
- a score of High in the Behaviour Domain together with a score above Nil in at least one of the ADL or CHC domains; or
- a score of Medium or High in at least two of the three domains.
What impact will this change have on ACATs?
There will be no change to the ACAT assessment and approval process. The change to the ACFIdefinition will reduce the level of disagreement between ACAT approval and ACFI appraisals and therefore the need for ACAT reassessments. Other than that, there are no real implications for ACATs.
However, given that ACATs undertake the initial assessment of whether a person is eligible for low or high residential care and then provide the appropriate approval, it is important that ACATs have an understanding of how high and low level care is defined under the ACFI and the Aged Care Act 1997 more generally.
For further information:
Website – http://www.health.gov.au/acfiAged Care Information Line– 1800 500 853
ACFI dedicated email address – acfi@health.gov.au
The information booklet:
5 Steps to Entry into Residential Aged Care is available on line at:
www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/ageing-rescare-resentry_a.htm-copy3 or by calling the Aged Care Information Line on :1800 500 853
The Aged Care Information Line has advised that callers often seek a replacement Pack after they have discarded the original given by their ACAT, because they did not understand why it was given to them. The are also receiving calls about the use of the Nominee Form, which they fill in immediately (instead of at the time of entry to a Facility).
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Commonwealth Government Department of Health and Ageing
New South WalesSandra Withers (02) 9263 3766
Victoria
Dannielle Miller (03) 9665 8180
Queensland
Denise McDonald (07) 3360 2852
Western Australia
Trudy Staynor (08) 9346 5247
South Australia
Ann Podzuweit (08) 8237 8052
Tasmania
Lois Jenkins (03) 6221 1474
Australian Capital Territory
Suzanne Pointon (02) 6289 3374
Northern Territory
Robyn Simpson (08) 8919 34
Useful Contacts
Aged Care Info Line - 1800 500 853Commonwealth Respite and Carelink Centre - 1800 052 222
www.health.gov.au/acats
www.health.gov.au/acfi
www.aihw.gov.au
www.dva.gov.au
www.rhef.com.au
www.agedcareaustralia.gov.au
www.commcarelink.health.gov.au
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