Your monthly update from The Grampians Sector Development Team!
AGED CARE SECTOR
5 NSW Sector Support and Development Teams in conjunction with Enkindle Consulting and Three Digital have developed and released the ITC Evaluation Report available now for CHSP Service Providers.
This report consolidates information on 11 leading Home Care Client Management System (CMS) solutions for the home care sector in Australia. With the increasing demand for high-quality aged care services, selecting the right CMS is critical for providers to ensure efficient operations and optimal service delivery. Each software application has been evaluated according to multiple criteria, including functionality, user-friendliness, technology integration, and industry compliance. By providing a comprehensive analysis, this report aims to help guide home care providers in understanding the various capabilities of Home Care CMS solutions in the market and assist them in making better-informed decisions on their CMS selection. This will enhance their service delivery, streamline administrative tasks, and ultimately improve the quality of care for their clients.
For Part 1 of the ITC Toolkit: A Practical Guide to Implementing A Home Care Client Management System, which the Grampians SSD Team were involved in please visit:ITC Toolkit (csdgrampians.org.au)
2023 Aged Care Provider Workforce
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare were commissioned to complete the 2023 Aged Care Provider Workforce Survey.
The report presents a summary of the key findings from the 2023 Aged Care Provider Workforce Survey (the Survey) commissioned by the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care. The Survey provides information on the size, composition and characteristics of the aged care workforce in residential aged care and in-home care settings.
The new aged care regulatory model will introduce a single, universal registration for all providers.
This will promote stronger relationships, transparency and engagement between the Department of Health & Aged Care, the sector and the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission (ACQSC).
The model will deliver:
a system that is easier for older people to access
a new provider registration and renewal process across 6 registration categories
provider obligations that are specific and easy to understand
support to providers to build their capability and continuously improve
The Aged Care Bill 2024 is for a new Aged Care Act – the main law that sets out how the aged care system operates. This new law will:
improve the lives of older people accessing aged care services in their homes, community settings and residential aged care homes
encourage aged care providers to deliver high-quality care.
The $5.6 billion investment and reform package in response to the recommendations of the Aged Care Taskforce will:
ensure the viability and quality of aged care
support older people to remain independent at home as they age.
1.4 million older people in Australia will benefit from the new Support at Home program by 2035. The program will provide:
more tailored support, with 8 ongoing classifications up to $78,000 per year
support for home modifications
fast access to assistive technology, including a new equipment loan scheme
a no worse off principle for people already in the aged care system.
The new Aged Care Act is expected to commence from 1 July 2025 with the Support at Home program.
Register for coming webinar for details:
Webinar: Support at Home program update, Thursday 19 September, 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm (AEST),Register now
Strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards Public Consultation Summary report
The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission has released their Consultation Report on the draft guidance documents for the new Strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards.
The main changes to the guidance materials will be simplified language and the addition of more examples.
The revised documents are due to be published by the end of 2024, which gives providers just 6 months to fully implement the Strengthened Quality Standards. (HERE)
Changes to Registration Categories: How the new aged care regulatory model will work
View the latest updated registration categories - updated August 2024. These categories may be subject to further change as the new Aged Care Act and the associated Rules are finalised.
The new regulatory model will change the way that providers enter the system, the way that obligations for providers are defined and the regulatory options available to the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission (ACQSC).
Diversity and Wellness in the Strengthened Quality Standards Workshop Series
Is your service rights-focused and ready? This is an important question that all aged care providers should be asking themselves in the lead up to the introduction of the new Aged Care Act and the Strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards which emphasise a rights-based approach, prioritising diversity, inclusion, and quality care. Understanding how diversity and wellness are embedded in the Standards will help you to create services that promote equity, empowerment and respect and demonstrate to older people that your organisation delivers inclusive services that honours every older person’s rights.
The ESDT (EACH), SSD Connect Alliance and Grampians SSD team are pleased to offer a series of online workshops to support you in applying a diversity and wellness lens across the Strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards and understand how it can benefit your organisation and communities.
Each 1-hour online session will include:
A focus on one of the Strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards
An introductory presentation about intersectionality and the alignment of diversity and wellness within a rights-based framework
Case Studies to demonstrate best practice approaches for the delivery of welcoming and inclusive care
Q&A where you can ask questions and share ideas
Discussion about the evidence requirements to demonstrate inclusive practice.
The workshops are for CHSP-funded aged care staff responsible for:
· Leading and implementing the standards and quality review process. For example, Managers, Coordinators, Team Leaders, Quality Managers.
· Delivering frontline services. For example, frontline staff across all service types.
Having Respectful and Inclusive Conversations with Older People from a Background of Trauma
Helping Hand in partnership with Relationships Australia has created a free course to assist Aged Care Professionals to engage in respectful and inclusive conversations with older people who have a history of trauma.
This workshop will focus on building your understanding of unpaid carers in our community and the aged care system, exploring the issues impacting on their caring role and what key services are available to support them.
Topics include: › Carer awareness – the carer landscape, themes and challenges faced by carers in the aged care context. › Carer supports – referral options and services available to unpaid carers. › Understanding the carer experience – carer guilt, anger, grief, and loss. › Implementing Carer Aware – exploring ways to support carers within your service and within your broader organisation.
These workshops are designed for organisations and staff working under the Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP) or in the aged care sector.
Presented by Carers Victoria in partnership with the Grampians Sector Development Team and supported by the Australian Government.
Who's Missing from your Aged Care Services
OPAN has been commissioned by the Department of Health and Aged Care to deliver a diversity program to aged care providers in response to recommendation 30 of the Royal Commission into Aged Care - designing for diversity, difference, complexity and individuality.
Our free diversity training helps aged care providers to identify the members of their community who are not accessing aged care services and the reasons why.
These workshops acted as a catalyst for a significant cultural and mindset shift within our team. They played an essential role in facilitating the integration of diversity plans and change into our processes and services.- Alison Saito
differentiates your service to better engage older people from diverse groups
demonstrates you are working towards Aged Care Quality Standards; Standard 1: Consumer Dignity and Choice
identifies specific actions that will embed diversity within your Continuous Improvement Process
Workshops delivered by industry specialists
OPAN's Planning for Diversity training is aimed at managers and staff members responsible for quality improvement, service planning or compliance. Workshops are currently running in Western Australia and Victoria.
The series includes two face-to-face workshops, an online session and access to a Community of Practice. Participants will also receive workbooks, diversity resources, and a certificate of completion.
Lunch and Learn session to explore the ESDT Consumer Feedback Toolkit (updated version 2, 2024)
The Eastern Sector Development Team is pleased to invite you to the next Victorian SSD Lunch and Learn session to explore the ESDT Consumer Feedback Toolkit (updated version 2, 2024).
The Toolkit includes a range of practical information, tools, and templates to help you design systems that enable the collection of meaningful consumer feedback to support quality improvement, including your program planning, delivery, and evaluation. This session will provide an overview of the Toolkit with a specific focus on:
Collecting and using Consumer feedback effectively
Recruitment and Retention in rural and remote regions – Reflections, Tips and Best Practice
Join Neil Eastwood – Founder and CEO of Care Friends, for an interactive session exploring the most effective methods (and those that don't work so well) when finding and keeping a caring workforce outside of metro areas.
We will cover:
Sourcing and Attraction - how do we find high potential care and support workers and how do we sell the role and the organisation?
Candidate experience - what is the optimum recruitment funnel and what is realistic when time and budget are short?
On-boarding - how can we prevent unnecessary early staff walk-outs?
First 90 days - specific actions to get new starters through this chasm of doom
Retention fundamentals - if we can't compete on pay, how do we maximise job quality and long tenure?
Introducing Neil Eastwood
Neil Eastwood is an international speaker on care worker recruitment and retention and author of ‘Saving Social Care’, now in its second edition with over 10,000 copies sold worldwide.
He is also Founder and CEO of Care Friends, an employee referral app which won the 2023 King's Award for Innovation and operates in the UK and Australia. He was previously a director at a national homecare provider with a bad staff turnover problem. He has been exploring ways to fix it for 15 years.
The workshop will be held on Tuesday 29th October, 9am – 10am via Zoom.
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