Residential Care
Draft Residential Aged Care Accreditation Standards
The report summarises the key discussion points and includes more detailed feedback from attendees on each expected outcome.
Consultation
Following initial consultations with the Ageing Consultative Committee, the Department of Health and Ageing (the Department) undertook consultations with the sector on a draft set of Accreditation Standards during March, April and May 2011. Workshops were held around the country and attended by representatives from approved providers, peak bodies, unions, health professional organisations, consumer and carer groups and provided attendees with an opportunity to comment on the draft Accreditation Standards.A report on the outcomes of the workshops was prepared for the Department by the workshops’ facilitator. The report summarises the key discussion points and includes more detailed feedback from attendees on each expected outcome.
HTML version of the Outcomes of National Workshops on draft revised Accreditation Standards for residential aged care
Feedback provided at the workshops has been taken into consideration in discussions with the Technical Reference Group and further refinements have been made to the draft Accreditation Standards as required.
A further draft will be made available to the Ageing Consultative Committee for comment. It is anticipated that once this work is completed, a pilot of the Standards will be undertaken. The pilot will be developed and conducted in collaboration with the Aged Care Standards and Accreditation Agency and aged care stakeholders.
Background
The Department has recently undertaken work in reviewing the Standards across both community care and residential aged care. The Community Care Common Standards came into effect on 1 March 2011.There are a number of drivers for this work. There is increasing evidence that the growing population of older people are expressing a preference to remain in their own home as they age. With people living longer there are rising numbers of frail aged people requiring care for complex needs.
The goal of an ‘end to end’ system for aged care means quality of care for the consumer requires consistency across the continuum of aged care from the community to residential aged care. With people living longer and staying in their homes as long as possible, by the time they enter residential aged care, older people are increasingly frail and often have complex care needs.
The global trend toward person-centred care is changing how care delivery is managed. Further, consumers are more informed about their health care needs and the community has higher expectations about quality of care and services in aged care.
The Department has worked with a Technical Reference Group to provide expert technical advice on the review of the residential aged care standards. The Technical Reference Group is comprised of individuals with expertise in one or more of the following areas: health and aged care standards; residential aged care accreditation; or development and implementation of quality indicators for residential aged care. While membership is based on individual expertise, total membership reflects key aged care areas including policy, clinical care delivery, industry, accreditation and consumer/carer sectors.
The draft Standards were developed using a set of guiding principles, which were informed by:
- written representations to the Department from consumers and families regarding the quality of care provided in aged care homes;
- public submissions with a focus on the Standards that were provided in response to the Accreditation process review discussion paper;
- international research on Standards in other countries; and
- evidence informed practice in standards development.
Top of page
