New record low compliance in home care
3 minute read
I always drop everything when the Commission releases its Aged Care Sector Performance Data. The report contains so much valuable information about the home care sector and the areas of practice that require our attention.
The latest report covers the quarter from January – March 2024 and it’s full of information to guide providers in the direction the regulator wants to see us heading.
The gigantic font size is not the only reason my eye is drawn to the figures on page 11. They tell us that compliance for home services now stands at 64%. That means we have hit a record 36% of home services audited that have fallen below the minimum requirements of the Standards.
A quick trip back through the archives shows that in December 2018, 88% of home services providers were compliant. It’s been a gradual decline ever since and the Commission is sending a serious shot across the bow of providers alerting them to their concerns about the quality of care being delivered to older Australians.
Standard 2 and Standard 8 are again the most featured in the Top 10 non-compliance outcomes. Let’s break this down a little:
Care assessments that identify current needs are not being followed through in service delivery or referrals,
There is a lack of documentation of care needs and risks and insufficient communication with others involved in a person’s care (including contractors),
Ongoing reviews of consumer care needs, goals, services and risks are not frequent or comprehensive enough,
There is a lack of understanding of how every incident, deterioration and change in circumstances impacts consumer care needs and expected service responses,
Training is not adequately preparing staff for the work they are being asked to perform, and recruitment and workforce planning is insufficient to meet consumer needs.
There are no surprises that 30% of complaints data relates to case management, coordination and care planning. The message is clear that home services providers are being asked to improve their implementation of assessment & care planning processes and ensure consumer needs are met more effectively.
Some staff have told me they actually welcomed a negative compliance outcome report as it is the only way they can convince their organisation to invest in the parts of the business that have been under-supported. There’s nothing like a stinging report from the regulator to get the executive leaders and governing body to pay attention.
All these systemic issues lead back to organisational governance in one way or another, so it is critical to share the report with everyone who has decision-making responsibility in your organisation. It’s a great idea to use the information in the report to review your performance across these same metrics.
The data is clear on the areas that are likely to cause grief. It’s a brave provider that ignores the repeated warnings in this report.
You can find the report here:
https://www.agedcarequality.gov.au/news-publications/reports/sector-performance
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