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Aged Care Assessment Teams

ACAT CHAT - Spring 2009

Welcome to Volume 27 of ACAT Chat.

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PDF printable version of ACAT CHAT - Spring 2009 (PDF 127 KB)

Welcome to Volume 27 of ACAT Chat.

Welcome to the new look ACAT Chat. You will notice that the ACAT Chat has a more professional and consistent look. We will still be bringing you up-to-date information and advice and look forward to receiving information from you. Thanks to the Victorian ACAS for their article on the Locum Bank (page 3).

Since the last ACAT Chat it has been an extremely busy period with everyone working hard to ensure the implementation of the changes to the Aged Care Act 1997. Thank you for your efforts in assisting us with the dissemination of the information to all of your clients.

We are happy to announce the National ACAP Conference for 2010. This time we will be holding the conference in Melbourne. You can read more about the conference on page 4.

The new National Delegation Training Resources are now implemented and we have a received a very positive response about the eLearining option. We are currently in the planning stages to update the Introduction to ACAP Self –Directed Learning Packageand this will also include an eLearning option.

Let us know what you think of the new look ACAT Chat and if there are certain topics or information that you would like included in the newsletter.

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Inside this issue:

ACAT Chat contacts

ACAT Information sheet

Locum Bank Project

Assessment Non-weight Bearing Clients Residential

National Conference 2010

Revised ACCR  & 21 day extension forms

Update on Day Respite Centre

Upcoming events

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

Phone: Annette Sharpe  (02) 6289 4584

ACAS Victoria—Locum Bank Project

This project is one of a series of initiatives of the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) designed to improve health services to older people. The objective of this project was to improve the timeliness of assessments by utilising the option of trained locums through a locum bank. 

In Victoria teams identified a difficulty in meeting target performance measures due to a shortage of suitable short term workforce options. The reasons for this can be the turnover of staff and the time taken to recruit and train new staff or when there are periods of planned or unplanned leave, or when short term projects require quick access to suitable staff.

The initial Locum project in 2007 developed an orientation training that utilised the Commonwealth Introduction to ACAP training package (2007). This was followed up with a 10 day clinical placement in which the locum was expected to conduct a range of assessments with the support and advice of preceptors and the ACAS manager. A workbook was developed to provide consistency in training for locum or back-up assessment workers.

The project extension into 2008 involved the development of a Locum Bank of ACAS assessors which will cover staff on unanticipated and extended leave and gaps associated with recruitment of new staff. This included experienced ACAS Clinicians who may wish to work as Locums.

The co-ordination of a Locum Bank was allocated to the Caulfield ACAS Manager and commenced in July 2008. The process included the development of a data base on all trained locums, their availability and the locations they preferred to work. The Caulfield ACAS Manager attended the initial screening and planned orientation of locums and maintained contact with the Locums. This role included collating requests from managers of all teams.

The outcome has provided some exciting options for covering workforce management across the teams. There were initially 10 trained locums and these have been deployed at various teams throughout the project. Some have since moved to permanent positions. A further 8 locums were trained. The central management of a locum bank enabled a global view of needs and some innovative strategies to accommodate staffing shortages.

The tragedy of the Victorian bushfires in 2009 resulted in a demand for case managers and depleted the options for locums in some of the affected areas. The higher demand on the ACATs in those areas required immediate assistance. The Locum Bank did not have staff that could be deployed in all of the areas with high demand. However the global management of locums assisted in developing a plan which utilised the secondment of experienced staff from metropolitan teams who volunteered. The locums could then be used to backfill the staff who were seconded.

This required planning of accommodation and travel arrangements. The result was effective as it provided experienced staff to immediately take up positions.

The project identified some challenges such as: difficulty with local health services in arranging short term employment contracts, the funding for accommodation and travel costs for locum staff and the ongoing management of a locum bank if it is to grow.

The outcomes have been successful in demonstrating an option for covering short term gaps in staffing. It has been a positive experience for the staff who were seconded and the teams that had access to experienced staff from other teams. There were experienced aged care assessors from interstate who had approached the Locum Bank for short term work.  The project has demonstrated that a central bank offers greater flexibility in co-ordinating and  filling shortages

The next step will be to analyse the project and report on the findings. The access to locums to fill gaps or the facilitation of secondments from teams with more settled workforce offers an effective long term option for workforce issues in the program.

For further information contact Maureen Smith Caulfield ACAT (03) 90766314

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Assessment Non-weight Bearing Clients for Residential Respite Care

The Aged Care Assessment Team (ACAT) is responsible for the assessment and approval of a range of government subsidised care services, including residential respite care. Prior to approving care for a person the ACAT must ensure that the person meets the eligibility criteria of the Aged Care Act 1997 and principles.  

Residential respite care may be used on a planned or emergency basis to help with carer stress, illness, holidays, or non-availability of the carer for any other reason. Respite care is provided as an alternative care arrangement with the primary purpose of giving a carer or a care recipient a    short-term break from their usual care arrangement. The residential respite program is not intended for those people who need rehabilitation or restorative care following an acute episode.
 
Following an acute episode non-weight bearing people should be assessed by the hospital rehabilitation service for appropriate rehabilitation treatment with the aim of enabling them to either remain in the community or return to their home, including the residential aged care home. Residential aged care homes do not provide intensive long term rehabilitation following, for example, serious illness or injury, surgery or trauma. 

Older people who have completed their hospital episode, including acute care and any necessary sub-acute care, who are medically stable and ready for discharge and have the capacity to benefit from goal-oriented, time-limited and therapy-focussed care may be  assessed as eligible for the Transition Care Program. Transition care is not a substitute for sub-acute care which includes rehabilitation, geriatric evaluation and management, psychogeriatric care and palliative care.  

2010 National ACAP Conference

Following an open tender process to secure the services of a Professional Conference Organiser to coordinate the National ACAT Conference in 2010, we are pleased to inform you that the successful tenderer is ICMS Australasia (ICMSA) Pty Ltd.

As the 2008 Conference was held in Sydney, it has been proposed for the 2010 Conference to be held in Melbourne.  We have currently secured Thursday 20th and Friday 21st May 2010.  The Conference will be held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. The Convention  Centre is located in the newly developed South Wharf district of central Melbourne on the banks of the Yarra River. The Melbourne Convention Centre is conveniently located within a short distance of an excellent range of hotels and serviced apartments. 

At this stage the proposed theme for the conference is ‘ACAP: Respect, Recognition and Responsibility’.  Keep  checking the ACAT Chat and our website for further details about  guest speakers, calls for abstracts and other up dates.

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A Reminder to ACATs: Eligibility for an EACH package

One of the eligibility criteria for an EACH package is that the person “is assessed under section  22-4 of the ACT as requiring a high level of residential care” (refer to Section 5.7A of the Approval of Care Recipients Principles 1997).

This then means that ACATs should never assess and approve a person for an EACH package and at the same time, approve the person for residential care at the low level.

Revised ACCR forms and 21 day extension forms

As part of the legislative changes that were made in December 2008, revised Aged Care Client Records (ACCR) Forms (3020(0709)) and 21 day extension forms were introduced on 1 July 2009.

Some teams experienced a few hiccups at the commencement of the new forms, however the new processes for ordering and distributing forms from Medicare Australia should now be in place.

Teams were requested to destroy all old forms through secure waste. Under no circumstances should old ACCR forms be disposed of by garbage or recycling collection unless it has been through an approved destruction process, such as shredding.

If you are having difficulties obtaining new forms contact the Senior Stakeholder Coordinator at Medicare Australia on (02) 6124 7107.

Update on Day Respite Centres

As previously reported in ACAT Chat, 30 residential aged care facilities are currently participating in the Demonstration Day Respite Centres in Residential Aged Care Services initiative.

The services are each using existing infrastructure to provide day respite for the carers of frail older people.  In doing so, they are providing the government and industry with an opportunity to explore a number of innovative ways of delivering day respite. This initiative will run until June 2011.

An important aspect of the initiative is the evaluation, which will provide a detailed account of the successes and challenges experienced by the participants.  In particular the evaluation will focus on:

• The reaction of carers utilising the service
• The costs and value for the facilities, government and care recipients
• The effects on the operations of facilities and the impact on full time residents
• Appropriate options for future funding of this type of respite.

As part of the evaluation, a one-day workshop was held in Melbourne in May 2009.  Two representatives from each Centre attended as well as officers from the Department of Health and Ageing.  The workshop provided Centres with the opportunity to meet and exchange common   experiences and approaches.

A critical component of the workshop was ensuring all participants contributed to the development of the evaluation framework.  This provided the participants with an understanding of the evaluation process and the challenges that lay ahead in terms of providing meaningful data. 

Feedback received during and following the workshop indicated that it was a valuable experience.  The next stage of the evaluation is now underway and includes site visits to twelve of the Centres in various locations covering, rural, regional and remote, different models and those targeting    different cultural groups.  The evaluation will be an ongoing process for the duration of the initiative.

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National Squalor Conference—Sydney—5 & 6 November 2009

The Catholic Community Services (CCS) will hold the inaugural National Squalor Conference ‘Pathway through the Maze’ in Sydney on 5-6 November 2009.

With a focus on enabling clients, such as building independence and   community connectedness, Catholic Community Services is investigating further ways to support people who live in squalor.

This 2-day innovative national conference, to be held at the SMC Conference Centre in Sydney, is the first of its kind to be held in Australia.
The conference will focus on sustainable long term intervention, through exploring the experiences of severe domestic squalor.

CCS has a strong and long standing commitment to working with clients living in squalor, having worked with    Prof John Snowdon (psycho-geriatrician and leading academic) and others on the development of the NSW Squalor Guidelines which were released in 2007.

For further information about Catholic Community Services’ squalor program call 1800 225 474.

More information on the National Squalor Conference is available on the conference website www.nationalsqualorconference.com.au.

Call for abstracts—Future Proofing the Aged and Community Care Workforce

Future Proofing the Aged and Community Care Workforce seminar will be held on 25-26 May 2010 at the Four Seasons Hotel, 199 George Street, Sydney.

The seminar aims to

• highlight practical strategies to ensure the viability and sustainability of the aged and community care workforce into the future,
• showcase innovations projects in aged, community care and educational settings that have      demonstrated successes, and
• Showcase successful quality improvement and patient safety initiatives.

Submissions are invited for abstracts. For further information go to www.changechampions.com.au

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Dates for the calendar

1-7 October: Seniors Week TASMANIA
Seniors Bureau DPC TAS 1300 135 513  www.seniors.tas.gov.au

18– 24 October: Carers Week, Includes Carers Day Out—20 October
Carers Australia (02) 6122 9917  www.careraustralia.com.au

14 November: World Diabetes Day
Diabetes Australia (02) 6232 3800 www.diabetesaustralia.gov.au

3 December: International Day of Persons with Disabilities
United Nations (02) 6273 8200 www.un.org

5 December: International Volunteer Day
Volunteering Australia (03) 9820 4100 www.volunteeringaustralia.org

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 Wales
Megan Edwards (02) 9263 3766
Victoria
Kerry Sugars (03) 9665 8127
Queensland
Denise McDonald (07) 3360 2852
Western Australia
Stephanie Turkich (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
Jean Carvolth (08) 8919 3461

Useful Contacts

Aged Care Info Line - 1800 500 853

Commonwealth 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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