Before, after and in between the many reviews reporting in 2017, it’s been another busy year in aged care news. However, it was our report on wages in the sector early in the year that topped the most-viewed list.
Here are the 10 most viewed stories on Australian Ageing Agenda online during 2017.
1. Aged care wages: tackling pay in ‘the forgotten industry’
The most-viewed story of year involved the longstanding issue of low wages for care workers and nurses in residential aged care. The issue came back in focus in February as a Senate committee investigated the sector’s workforce (read our story here).
2. Exit fees for home care clients top $4,000, data shows
Coming in at number two was the Community Care Review report on new information published on My Aged Care revealing huge market variation in the maximum exit fees clients could expect to pay when they left their home care service. The subsequent commentary online raised further questions about hidden exit fees by way of lengthy waiting periods (read our story here).
3. RSL Care + RDNS rebrands with ‘ambitious target’
AAA’s August report on an interview with Bolton Clarke CEO Stephen Muggleton about the organisation’s growth and acquisition strategy, which was published in the week that the aged care, health and retirement living provider rebranded from RSL Care + RDNS, came in as your third most read story for the year (read story here).
4. Confusion reigns over new aged care queue
Little was known about the true state of the home care queue until this year and many were excited about the 27 February aged care reforms, which included a centralised process for allocating home care packages directly to consumers. However, this article coming in at number four on the most-viewed list showed that confusion was mounting among providers and consumers in May over the complex new system absent of transparency (read story here).
5. Compare aged care: new players vying to advise consumers
As competition for clients continued to increase for providers, more online comparison sites for consumers started popping up this year. While not yet at the level of the much-touted TripAdvisor, this article reporting on two new national comparison websites coming online in the same month as the the February home care reforms proved popular as your fifth most read of 2017 (read story here).
6. Aged care Senate inquiry receives few submissions
In the midst of aged care being subject to several ongoing reviews, this story in August revealing that the Senate inquiry into aged care quality assessment and accreditation was struggling to capture the interest of the industry grabbed your attention – at number six on the year’s most-viewed list (read story here).
7. Ken Wyatt appointed Minister for Aged Care in limited cabinet reshuffle
Coming in at number seven was news of Ken Wyatt’s appointment to Minister for Aged Care and Indigenous Health in January and the appointment of Greg Hunt as the Minister for Health and Sport (read story here).
8. Exercise physiologists winners of new therapy program
In November, allied health peak bodies welcomed the expanded pain management program for residential aged care proposed in Dr Richard Rosewarne’s review of the Aged Care Funding Instrument. The news proved popular with you too, coming in as the eighth most-viewed article (read our story here).
9. Free dementia e-learning courses launched
The launch of Dementia Training Australia’s online learning platform got your attention in July. The news of short and flexible courses designed to help time-poor aged care staff complete the training was the ninth most-viewed article of the year (read story here).
10. RDNS + RSL Care purchases Aged Care Channel
Rounding off the top 10 most-viewed stories of 2017 was our report confirming that major aged care provider RDNS + RSL Care had acquired leading sector education provider the Aged Care Channel as part of its wide-ranging acquisition strategy (read story here).
Want to have your say on our 10 most-viewed stories? Comment below
