Date published:
Type:
Subscriber announcement
Audience:
Health sector
Since 1 July 2019, residential aged care providers have had specific responsibilities in the Quality of Care Principles 2014 relating to the use of physical and chemical restraint. These requirements put explicit obligations on the use of restraint by residential aged care providers.
The Australian Government has announced further strengthening of the regulation of chemical restraints in residential aged care.
The Government's legislation now:
- makes it clear restraint must only be used as a last resort
- refers to state and territory legislation which regulates the responsibility of prescribers to gain informed consent for chemical restraint
- requires a review of the first 12 months of the operation of the restraint regulations to ensure aged care facilities are minimising the use of inappropriate restraint.
Resources
The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission has developed:
- a Self Assessment Tool for Recording Consumers Receiving Psychotropic Medications to support providers' process of continuous improvement in relation to the standard of care and services.
- Scenarios involving Physical and/or Chemical Restraint' and a Regulatory Bulletin' to help providers understand issues and their responsibilities around minimising the use of physical and/or chemical restraint.