Residential Aged Care Services
Page content: Overview | Regulation
of residential aged care | Entry to residential aged
care | Levels of residential
aged care | Complaints | Public Sector Residential
Aged Care Services (PSRACS) | Beyond Compliance | PSRACS incident reporting requirements | Residential aged care services built environment audit tool (draft)
Overview
Residential aged care is for older people who can no longer live at home
due to frailty, disability, illness, the death of a partner or, the needs
of a carer, family or friend. Most people choose to live at
home and there are many supports and services that can assist older people
to do this, however when it is no longer possible to manage at home, residential
aged care services provide older people with continuous supported care.
Aged care homes are owned and operated by individuals and organisations
that have Commonwealth Government approval to provide residential care.
This page provides basic information about Residential Aged Care services.
For more extensive information visit the Commonwealth
Department of Health and Ageing (DoHA) website.
Regulation of residential
aged care
Planning, funding and regulation of residential aged care facilities
is the responsibility of the Commonwealth Government.
Entry to residential aged care
Entry to residential aged care services is through the Aged Care Assessment
Service. This service will assess the needs of the person to determine
their eligibility and provide approval for a place in a residential aged
care facility. To assist people considering long term residential aged
care, refer to the Victorian Government’s publication, Residential
care, your choices and the Commonwealth Government publication, 5
steps to Entry into Residential Aged Care also provides an introduction
into accessing residential aged care services.
Levels of residential aged care
Aged care homes provide varying levels of support ranging from daily tasks
and personal care to 24-hour nursing care.
Residential aged care can be offered as either permanent or short-term
care, referred to as respite care.
If less care is required than is offered by aged care homes independent
living units or retirement villages offer supportive communities with a
range of services for older people. They are regulated by State and Territory
Governments.
Low level care homes, formerly known as hostels, generally provide accommodation
and personal care and occasional nursing care.
High level care homes, previously known as nursing homes,
care for people with a greater degree of frailty, who often need continuous
nursing care.
Complaints
All complaints about Residential Aged care services are handled
by the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing.
Please call the Aged Care Complaints Scheme 1800 550 552 or
write to GPO Box 9848, Melbourne Vic 3001, and for more information refer to the website for
Residential Aged Care at the Commonwealth
Department of Health and Ageing.
For information about the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing, Compulsory Reporting Guidelines for Approved Providers of Residential Aged Care, refer to information available at http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/ageing-quality-guidelines-cr-ap.htm
Public Sector Residential Aged Care Services (PSRACS)
Unlike most other State Governments, Victoria remains a major provider
in residential aged care services. Public Sector Residential Aged Care
Services are targeted at small rural communities and those with specialist
care needs that are not being met by other providers.
All PSRACS are run under the regulation and funding instruments of the
Commonwealth government.
The Victorian Government’s role in residential aged care services
Public Sector Residential Aged Care Policy
Public Sector Residential Aged Care Listing
 Public sector residential aged care - List of facilities February 2012 (129kb, MS Excel)
Beyond Compliance
'Beyond Compliance' is the strategic framework for focusing on quality and safety in public sector residential aged care services. The approach draws together current and future initiatives in a manner that is sustainable and ensures residents and their carers’ choices are respected and quality of life is supported.
The initiative and approaches in Beyond Compliance target risk management and performance improvement by:
- providing education and training
- developing tools and resources
- providing specialist advice and support for staff and management
- developing and implementing strategic initiatives.
Quality in public sector residential aged care: Where to from here?
Integrated Aged Care Projects Report
The Integrated aged care projects report presents the results of three major yet inter-related projects undertaken over 2008-2009, as part of ‘Beyond Compliance’. The report identifies key aspects of residential aged care quality systems. The report has been used to support a number of quality activities to support safe high quality in public sector residential aged care services.
Other key elements of Beyond Compliance:
- Training and Education
The Ageing and Aged Care Branch supports public sector residential aged care providers through the delivery of targeted education activities to support high quality person centred care.
- Quality Indicators
Since July 2006 Public Sector Residential Aged Care Services (PSRACS) have been participating in an initiative that involves collecting, reporting and benchmarking data on a set of quality indicators relating to the clinical areas of: pressure ulcers; falls and fractures; use of physical restraint; multiple medication use; and unplanned weight loss. The Resource Manual for Quality Indicators in Public Sector Residential Aged Care Services sets out the framework and requirements for this initiative.
- Quality Indicators Reference Ranges
Campbell Research & Consulting was commissioned by the Victorian Department of Health (DH) Aged Care Branch to develop aspirational, realistic and achievable consensus reference ranges for the aged care quality indicators that have been collected for PSRACS in Victoria since June 2006. These reference ranges are evidence based and have been determined following sector and expert consultation.
- Residential Aged Care Coronial Communique
The Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine is funded to publish a quarterly Residential Aged Care Coronial Communique. The Communique highlights selected cases reported to the State Coroner and shares learnings to improve awareness of resident safety issues. Subscription is free of charge. To subscribe email: racc@vifm.org.
For further information go to the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine website.
- 'SCORE': Strengthening Care Outcomes for Residents with Evidence
‘SCORE’ is an initiative commissioned to develop standardised clinical responses to residents’ care needs. ‘SCORE’ establishes a foundation to support a systems approach to ensuring safe, quality outcomes for residents through improved, consistent processes.
- Tools and resources
A range of useful publications designed to support services with quality and safety activities including:
Public Sector Residential Aged Care DH incident reporting requirement
In 2007 the Commonwealth Government, Department of Health and Ageing (DoHA) enacted major safeguards against elder abuse that applied to aged care providers subsidised under the Aged Care Act 1997, including residential aged care services, Community Aged Care Packages (CACPs), Extended Aged Care at Home (EACH), EACH Dementia and transitional programs. As part of these safeguards, several reforms were established to provide improved protections against abuse of the elderly in residential care homes, as well as a greater capacity to investigate incidents of alleged sexual and physical assault.
The agency mandated by the Aged Care Act 1997 to receive reports and investigate complaints is the Commonwealth’s Complaints Scheme (the Scheme) which is managed by the Office for Aged Care Quality and Compliance within the Commonwealth's Department of Health and Ageing (DoHA).
Further reforms have resulted in the Commonwealth adding the requirement for residential aged care services to report missing residents where the absence is unexplained and has been reported to the police. The Scheme must be notified as soon as reasonably practicable and in any case within 24 hours after the provider reports the absence to police.
For further details see Compulsory Reporting Guidelines For Approved Providers of Residential Aged Care at the DoHA website.
The Victorian Department of Health requires that Public Sector Residential Aged Care Services (PSRACS) report allegations of suspicions of physical assault and unlawful sexual contact involving residents to the Victorian Department of Health, at the same time they report to the Scheme, Victoria Police and inform the resident’s family. The additional requirement to report missing persons has been integrated with the existing process for reporting of alleged and/or suspected sexual and physical assaults to the department. Hospital Circular 3/2010 outlines these requirements.
All Public Sector Residential Aged Care Services are required to inform the department of reports at the same time or within 24 hours of advising the Scheme, and Victoria Police. This is consistent with accountability principles that underpin funding to all Victorian public health services.
Refer to the Public Sector Residential Aged Care Department of Health incident reporting form to notify the Victorian Department of Health of the incident and for more information on completing the form.
Residential aged care services built environment audit tool (draft)
The audit tool enables Residential Aged Care Services (RACS) to undertake built environmental audits and to develop action plans for improving the physical environment for older people accessing their facility. This may include plans for ‘easy to achieve’ changes or long term more costly changes.
The draft tool is now available for online testing and feedback until August 2011. A feedback/comments section is available. Following feedback it will be published online and in hard copy.
For more information email Terri.Preece@health.vic.gov.au.
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