2023 – a year in review: part 3

Just as in part one and part two of this series, the demands remained high during the latter part of the year for aged care providers – who gathered in their largest numbers ever at the sector’s national conference.

September

The aged care accommodation design guidelines were released and made available for stakeholder consultation. Built on evidence-based research undertaken over several decades – and in response to a recommendation by the royal commission – the National Aged Care Design Principles and Guidelines aim to create safe and comfortable living environments that promote independence, function and enjoyment for aged care residents – particularly those living with dementia.

Dementia Training Australia – which helped develop the principles and guidelines – heralded the release of the document.

“Our hope is that these guidelines will not only raise the bar for aged care services but also inspire a broader conversation about the importance of compassionate and person-centred care,” said DTA chief executive officer Isabelle Meyer.

The aged care sector is experiencing “significant difficulty” in the recruitment and retention of volunteers, a government survey found. Conducted by the Department of Health and Aged Care, the Volunteers in Aged Care survey heard from almost 1,600 anonymous respondents.

According to the 2020 Aged Care Workforce Census, the number of volunteers providing support in residential aged care facilities per fortnight was 11,980 – almost half the number of 2016. The department said help was “desperately needed” to address the decline in volunteering numbers.

A well-targeted, skills-focused migration program was one of several policies in a government white paper designed to address critical labour shortages in sectors such as aged care. According to the Committee for Economic Development of Australia, unless urgent action is taken, it’s projected that over the next decade the aged care sector will need at least 110,000 more direct care workers in the system.

To help plug the gap, the paper’s authors also suggested permanently allowing aged care pensioners and veterans to earn $4,000 more a year before they are financially penalised.

October

Many aged care homes are operating under capacity – some as low as 50 per cent – due to worker shortages aggravated by government reforms, said CEDA in a report – Duty of care: Aged-care sector running on empty. 

The report found that the mandatory care minute targets and the requirement for facilities to have registered nurses onsite 24/7 are exacerbating the workforce crisis, especially in regional and remote areas of the country.

“New mandated staffing levels mean many facilities are operating well below full capacity because they can’t get enough workers,” CEDA chief economist Cassandra Winzar said.

The independent Office of the Inspector-General of Aged Care commenced with longtime consumer advocate Ian Yates appointed Acting Inspector-General of Aged Care.

The commencement of the office followed the August 2023 passage of the Inspector-General of Aged Care Act 2023 and marked the implementation of a key recommendation of the royal commission.

The Act gives the office full independence from the Department of Health and Aged Care, and all other agencies, plus the legislative powers to fully investigate systemic issues across the aged care system to help make services better meet the diverse needs of older people in Australia.

Speaking in the main hall of the Adelaide Convention ACCPA CEO Tom Symondson told delegates attending the peak’s national conference: “I feel like that sense of self-confidence and pride in being part of this sector is something that again we can talk about.”

Whilst the sector was “very far from perfect”, people in the industry are entitled to feel pride in themselves and what they do,” said Mr Symondson. The sector has had an incredible year, he added. A year – he told the biggest gathering of aged care providers in the country – “better than many in our recent past.”

Minister for Aged Care Anika Wells was equally upbeat when she delivered her keynote speech to conference, Aged care is “back from the brink,” she told delegates.

Despite the year being a challenging one, the sector’s “collective embrace of the reforms, so far, has been outstanding,” said Ms Wells. “And I hope you feel, like me, that the green shoots have arrived.”

November

Older people receiving aged care are feeling dismissed or ignored and not listened to, a report from the Older Person’s Advocacy Network found.

Analysing data from OPAN members based on their experiences dealing with almost 40,000 advocacy cases during 2022-23 – the report highlighted communication issues as a key complaint among older people receiving home and residential aged care services. “To improve communication, we must ask older people what they want and actively listen to what they have to say,” OPAN chief executive officer Craig Gear told AAA.

Aged care providers are continuing to fall short of the mandatory minutes of care residents should be receiving from RNs, new analysis showed.

Published by aged care consultancy firm Mirus Australia – and based on a data sample of 90,000 beds (or one-third of the entire residential aged care sector) – the report showed, during October, providers reached an average of 34 minutes of RN time, six minutes less than the mandatory 40 minutes.

“There is still some work to be made with challenges on the RN cohort,” Mirus Australia co-founder Robert Covino told AAA. “There is more room to move with skilled nursing staff which has been a trend across the sector as they have been the hardest resource to acquire.”

Another consultancy firm backed up the claim. A report from Ideagen found that almost three-quarters of aged care providers – 71 per cent – were struggling to recruit and retain enough RNs.

“Registered nurses are one of the most in-demand professions in the country, yet the aged care system we are moving towards doesn’t seem to acknowledge they can find better paid work elsewhere in public hospitals,” said Ideagen senior vice president David Griffiths.

December

Providers were told by the federal government to calculate their own care minute targets in wake of revelations it had been publishing incorrect data for over a year.

On 1 December, the Department of Health and Aged Care informed providers that “an issue was recently discovered with the transmission of residential care exit and entry records” between Services Australia – custodians of the information – and the department’s systems.

It later transpired that care minute targets for the October-December quarter had changed for most residential aged care services, including by more than a minute for 41 per cent of services, the Department of Health and Aged Care has told AAA – that equates to over 1,000 of the country’s 2,600-plus residential services.

A third of services – about 880 homes – had their targets reduced by more than a minute including 18 per cent by 1-2 minutes and 15 per cent by two or more minutes.

The government appointed Andrea Kelly as the Interim First Nations Aged Care Commissioner. “The [commissioner] will help advocate for communities and service providers across Australia to help the reforms we are undertaking in aged care meet the needs of older First Nations people,” said Minister for Aged Care Anika Wells in a statement.

Ms Kelly said she was delighted to take up the role of interim commissioner “and for the opportunity to advocate for and work directly with First Nations people regarding their care needs.”

She added: “The creation of this role, and that of the permanent First Nations Commissioner for Aged Care, will enable voices of First Nations people to be heard and acted on.” Ms Kelly commences the role from 24 January 2024.

The government in its mid-year mini budget gifted the sector an additional $596 million over four years from this financial year and $27.3 million per year ongoing to continue its aged care reform program through 2024 and beyond.

The year ended with the release of the long-awaited exposure draft of the new Aged Care Act along with an invite for public consultation. At the crux of the 347-page draft there exists a rights-based legal framework that strongly focuses on the needs of senior Australians. ACCPA CEO Tom Symondson called the document “a vital piece of the [reform] puzzle moving forward.” Subject to finalisation and passage through parliament, the revised Act will take effect from 1 July 2024.

Speaking of 2024, the AAA team hopes it’s a happy one for all of our readers. No doubt – as far as the aged care industry is concerned – it will be yet another momentous year…

2023 – a year in review: part 1

2023 – a year in review: part 2

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