Tips for starting on the New Quality Standards
5 minute read
I’ve spent a lot of time over the last few years assisting providers with compliance issues and want to outline a few key steps you can take to get ready for the new Aged Care Quality Standards. I know I’m not the only one thinking about what it is all going to mean in practice.
If you heard the aged care sector grinding to a halt last Tuesday afternoon, it was because thousands of people were tuning into the Commission’s webinar on the strengthened Quality Standards.
The Quality Standards put complex legislation (the Aged Care Act) into practice, detailing the Commonwealth’s expectations for providers. In simple terms, the Act provides the rule book and the Standards create a series of statements of what you need to do.
The next important step of this rather linear process is how you do it. This is the bit where each provider exercises some discretion, creating their own ways of working to demonstrate they conform with the requirements of each Standard.
Then the regulator steps back in to test providers on whether their ‘how we do it’ is satisfactory across a range of measures.
As someone who spends a lot of time working directly with home care providers, I can tell you that providers are like snowflakes – each one is unique and different. And this is by design, not by accident. They want to be different, and they often go to great lengths to explain how they have established their home care model in a particular way.
This is why it is often difficult to apply a consistently applicable set of compliance metrics in a sector where we all strive to stand out from the crowd. It’s not like a factory where you either have a functional safety guard on that machine or not. In home services the variations in ways to meet the Standards are endless!
The Commissioner prefaced the latest Sector Performance data report by saying “We have shifted our focus to what we see rather than what we do” which means their auditors are focusing less on your policies and more on your practices and real-life feedback from people in your service (staff included).
Non-compliance has a habit of popping up when, as providers, what we say we do, does not align with what we actually do. And rightly so.
One of the most challenging things for home care providers is being able to look at the requirements in the Standards and translate them into achievable actions.
You’ve got to get right down into the weeds to fully understand what’s required at a granular level. That’s hopefully where we can help!
Most guidance in the sector will give you high-level advice, which is OK up to a point. However providers are often under-resourced and overwhelmed and just want some advice that has some tangible and immediate impact.
So, here are some practical tips, to get you started on what is sure to be a very interesting time of transition. 😊
Tip 1: Review Sector Data.
I’ve been a big fan of the Aged Care Sector Performance Data reports for years, right up until this latest report came out on Feb 6th. For me, the new format is a bit hard to navigate and the content is dense... I’m hoping it will grow on me.
Anyway, this time around the Commission has pulled no punches, warning that Standard 2 (Ongoing Assessment & Planning) and Standard 8 (Governance), are the main focus for auditors right now.
A lot of Care Managers are feeling pretty rough that 30% of complaints and the second-highest non-compliance fall into Standard 2. But it’s not necessarily their fault. Management needs to learn from their experience and find out what they really need to be able to deliver best-practice support.
When I conduct quality reviews for HCP providers, these are some of the most common recommendations I make:
Review your current Assessment documentation and highlight (quite literally) all questions that relate to clinical or high-impact/high-prevalence conditions. This helps non-clinical Care Managers identify common health issues to refer to RNs or other Allied Health practitioners.
Ensure the Finance team produce a report of the Top 20 clients every month with the highest and lowest available balances. Focus on unmet needs and strategies to mitigate any risks.
Prepare a quarterly report card when the Sector Performance Data report is published, that shows how you are tracking against the most common complaints and non-compliance.
Tip 2: Support Governance
Write a series of questions for your Governing body to ask the Executive team that helps them focus on the impact your organisation has on the people you serve. Many Directors focus (perhaps a little too much) on the financials, but we know that a healthy bottom line is no guarantee of compliance when it comes to a Quality audit. So, you’ll be doing them a favour by scripting things a little 😉
Boards often wait to be told stuff because they don’t always know what questions to ask. Providing some generic questions they can ask management (that can relate to multiple topics) gives predictability and structure. And it actually works!
Tip 3: Leverage your Consumers
Convene a Consumer Advisory Body meeting and ask them to reflect on their experience when they first signed up with you. What was it that made them think you were the right provider? How can you capture this positive feedback and build it into your intake process?
Show them your assessment form template and ask them to describe what it feels like to be on the receiving end of a comprehensive assessment. Are the questions in the ‘right’ order? Is the wording OK from a consumer point of view? Can you explain the rationale for each question being included?
Show them the requirements in the new Standard 1 and ask them to help work out the best way to gather this information, especially around understanding the cultural and diversity needs of consumers. In what ways can client funding be directed to supporting the cultural and community connections that make your consumers who they are today?
Use this feedback to help develop an improved person-centred assessment document that meets your needs as a provider and the more intrinsic, personalised needs of the older people in your service. Auditors (well, everyone) love it when you do this well.
Get Going.
In summary, when you’re thinking about how you can prepare for the implementation of the new Standards, sometimes it’s easier to start by focusing on the everyday issues that have the greatest impact for both your staff and your consumers. These simple tips can have quite meaningful and immediate results for you. Give them a try and see for yourself.
Let us know how you go - we love to hear your stories!
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