Experts raise ‘significant concerns’ around revised aged care standards

Aged care experts have raised significant concerns around the language and implementation of measures contained in the government's revised quality standards for the sector.

Earlier this month, the health department published the redrafted Aged Care Quality Standards in line with the Royal Commission's recommendations for a more precise and detailed overview.

Peak union, the Aged & Community Care Providers Association (ACCPA,) said it's too early to determine whether the revised standards are an improvement.

"A significant concern we have is that there'll be a lot of changes to the words, but it won't be clear what those changes actually mean in terms of the services delivered on the ground," said ACCPA's general policy and advocacy manager Tim Hicks.

"We don't want a situation where we're just changing words, but we're still doing everything the same.

"Our initial impression is that this is still the case."

The consultation paper is a modified version of the Aged Care Quality standards published in July 2019, which aimed to deliver guidelines for providers on how aged care provision should look like.

The new standards include practical advice around areas such as clinical care, food and nutrition, the organisation and the resident.

Yet, 'significant concerns' were voiced by aged care peaks and providers during an ACCPA conference earlier this month, asking the health department for 'more detail, more specificity and more objective measurements'.

"The existing quality standards report uses relatively vague and aspirational language and refers to outcomes that can never be guaranteed a hundred per cent of the time," Hicks said.

"So, the ACCPA is seeking greater clarity in the revised standards around the organisation's expectations regarding the steps they can take and what would be considered best practice.

"And in our mind, that's also what the Royal Commission wanted to do."

During their investigations, the umpire's 2021 report observed that consumers and providers were often confused about what was expected of them during different circumstances.

Hicks said the ACCPA will seek improved clarification and detail about how aged care is carried out.

The ACCPA will hold at least five sessions with their members, 'reviewing the draft line by line' to work through each standard and provide formal feedback to the government. 

"What do we expect people to do differently as a result of this big redraft of the standards, and how will that actually improve the quality of care that people receive?"

They have until November 25th to send in their suggestions and Hicks said it'll be a close call.

"We've got less than five weeks for the consultation process. That might seem like a decent amount of time, but actually, it's relatively tight because we've got to go through each of those standards in detail," Hicks said.

"Everyone's still formulating their view – it's a big document, released at a time when there's an awful lot of other things going on.

"So I expect that for most organisations, it'll be a similar response to us; they need to work through the details to come to a conclusion."

Macquarie University aged care professor Michael Fine from Macquarie University said the revised standards were an improvement but 'still a bit legalistic'.

"It's much clearer, but it's not perfect. I think it will help people to discuss and review it," he said.

"But the crucial problem is that they don't seem to have anything other than the rules.

"It's like, 'How are you going to manage crime? Let's look at the law'."

Fine said specific questions remain, such as how often homes will receive inspections and what the process will look like.

He also criticised the lack of emphasis on the involvement of the residents in their homes and how the rights of staff will be facilitated. He'd also like to see a more prominent inclusion of carers and technology in the quality standards.

"[Setting standards for] Aged care is difficult because, on the one hand, you need to have some fairly solid rules to let people know where they stand," Fine said.

"But on the other hand, they also need to change, develop, and be flexible. 

"It's definitely an improvement, but until we start talking about how to implement these standards, they are not perfect."

Do you have an idea for a story?
Email [email protected]