Residents scored three in four facilities higher than final 2022 star rating

Aged care residents who were happy with their homes tended to rate them higher than the final star ratings published on my aged care, according to federal data published yesterday.

The findings from last year's resident experience survey that contributed to the star ratings in 2022 were released for the first time during a health department's webinar in early March.

Over 38 per cent of facilities were given a four or five-star rating during the resident experience survey compared to the final 31 per cent on My Aged Care.

Yet, fewer residents rated their home three stars (53.4%) compared to the final star ratings (59%).

Less than 1 per cent of residential care services (50 facilities) were rated five stars by its residents.

Older Persons Advocacy Network (OPAN) chief Craig Gear said the star rating system will help to promote greater transparency.

"This nationally consistent benchmark will enable older people and their families to make informed choices about where they want to live," Gear said.

"We've welcomed this reform, which will lead to better aged care for all older people, but there is more work to be done."

In December 2022, the health department issued the first aged care provider's star rating system on My Aged Care after the Royal Commission response bill passed earlier in August.

Nearly 60 per cent of providers were marked a three-star rating, and 31 per cent received four or five stars.

Ten per cent were given one or two stars, indicating the facilities needed significant improvement.

The tool rates aged care providers one to five stars, where the highest means a facility delivers 'good' or 'excellent' quality service and three 'acceptable.'

The experience of aged care residents is one of the four key performance indicators, accounting for 33 per cent of the overall star rating.

Another 30 per cent is determined by a provider's compliance, 22 per cent by staffing minutes and 15 per cent by quality indicators.

Josh Maldon, assistant secretary of the health department's Choice and Transparency branch, said the surveys allowed people to share feedback on their lived experience.

"The Royal Commission said the consumer experience interviews would drive a philosophical shift to place the consumer voice at the centre of the system," Maldon said.

The interviews were conducted from April to November last year by consultancy companies IQVIA in consortia with HealthConsult and ACNA.

The independent organisations interviewed over 20 per cent of all people in Australia's residential aged care using a 14-question survey, two being open-ended and 12 asking for responses ranging from 'never' to 'always.'

Questions included whether they felt at home at the residential facility, if they liked the food, whether the home was run well and if the staff was kind and caring.

They asked over 40,000 aged care residents across more than 2,600 Australian residential facilities.

Over 53 per cent of facilities were awarded three stars by its residents, and more than 37 per cent received four stars.

IQVIA's senior director, Leighton Howard, said residents in medium to large residential aged care homes responded to all questions more negatively than those in smaller facilities.

Overall, aged care residents responded more positively to questions related to the care environment, such as 'do you feel safe here?' and 'do the staff treat you with respect?'

On the other hand, people answered more negatively on organisational aspects of care questions, including 'do the staff know what they're doing?' and 'do the staff explain things to you?'

"Further remoteness of the home, the organisation type, the size of the organisation remained the largest single contributing factor to the proportion of positive responses," Howard said.

"This trend was most significant in the organisational aspects of care questions, indicating improvement opportunities for these services concerning staffing, communication and food."

The health department updated the star ratings on My Aged Care on March 1st this year.

IQVIA has started conducting surveys across residential facilities and is expected to continue until October 2023.

Over the next few weeks, the health department will start recalculating the star ratings for the next quarterly update, which is scheduled in June.

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