ONE of Australia’s leading seniors’ advocacy groups believes a proposed new government framework for aged care will put frail elderly people at risk.
Nursing homes are currently assessed against 44 standards/outcomes, 17 of which apply to clinical care.
The proposed Single Aged Care Quality Framework strips away specific mention of clinical standards relating to areas such as dental and oral care, pain management, nutrition and hydration, sleep, specialised nursing care, skin care and palliative care.
“We are really worried about the impact on the quality of care these changes will have,” said Combined Pensioners and Superannuants Association policy co-ordinator Ellis Blaikie.
“The new nursing home standards are clearly about removing every inch of red tape for aged care providers. What is proposed will not keep our most vulnerable aged care recipients safe.
“The proposal constitutes a further hollowing out of an already insufficient system.”
Consultation papers for two key parts of the framework are open for comment until April 27.
The draft single set of quality standards would replace the current four sets of standards: accreditation (which relates to nursing homes), home care, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flexible aged care, and transition care.
Because older people were staying at home using in-home care for longer, Ms Blaikie said they were often more frail and ill when they moved into a nursing home.
“The real issue is that nursing homes are increasingly becoming sub-acute hospitals and there is a need for even greater care.”
Ms Blaikie said her organisation’s submission would make the point that “this is going to be terrible for quality of care”.
The organisation is also concerned at the second aspect of the framework designed to streamline the way providers are audited and accredited.
The framework proposes three options:
- An assessment process with different approaches used for residential settings and home/community settings (based on the current system with improvements).
- A single risk-based assessment process applicable to all aged care settings.
- Use of a safety and quality declaration by organisations providing low-risk services readily available to the broader population. (If supported this option can be combined with Option 1 or Option 2).
Ms Blaike said it appeared the framework was moving towards less regulation and more self-assessment.
- 1800-020-103, consultations.health.gov.au
‘Key concepts are lacking’
ADVOCACY and research group Elder Care Watch is concerned at the lack of express references in the framework to areas such as pain management and continence management.
“Key concepts are lacking while lengthy sentences abound,” spokeswoman Carol Williams said.
“Elder Care Watch supports the new focus on care outcomes but believes a broad single set of standards is good for bureaucrats but probably not so good for the consumer.
“It is neat on paper but may not be fit for purpose in practice settings.
“The wider the application the greater the risk of irrelevance.
“You can see this with the generic code of conduct for health workers which is a poor fit for residential
care where most workers are employed.”
Ms Williams described the new language as confusing and said the word “accreditation” should remain in the title.
