Providers lack awareness of upcoming reforms: survey
The government’s first provider pulse survey has found residential and home care organisations are only moderately aware and prepared for reforms.
Residential and home aged care providers are only moderately aware and prepared for the reforms taking effect prior to July 2023, the government’s first provider pulse survey has found.
The Department of Health and Aged Care surveyed aged care providers and stakeholders between 23 September and 14 October last year to monitor readiness and awareness of the aged care reforms, and set a baseline for future surveys.
It has, the department reported along with the results on 20 December, identified the need for:
- more targeted, detailed and timely information delivered via more appropriate channels to enable them to properly plan and implement the changes
- longer implementation timeframes, and
- a whole-of-system picture of the reforms.
The department received 2,542 responses of which almost two-thirds were from people in the aged care sector (64 per cent).
It found 38 per cent of residential care providers and 26 per cent of home care providers were well aware of the reforms in the first half of 2023 relevant to them.
However, it also found the majority – 71 per cent of residential aged care providers and 72 per cent of home care providers – felt somewhat prepared for reforms they identified as having a high impact on them.
Across all stakeholders, two in five respondents said they were not getting the level of detail required to plan and prepare for the reform changes, according to the results.
In response to the results, the department said it would:
- integrate information across projects to improve planning
- provide a clearer narrative and more context to the aged care sector to show how the various parts of the reforms work together
- collaborate and partner with the sector
- use established networks to greater effect
- publish project information early and often, even if dates are expected to change.
The department plans to repeat the survey each quarter with the next planned for release in early February 2023.
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The reforms are a haphazard, ill-conceived and clunky…and they’ll have zero impact on the quality of resident care.
Of course most providers are struggling to grasp the latest batch of convoluted and onerous regulatory measures, they’re all too busy just trying to keep their heads above water with staff shortages, covid restrictions, an inept AN-ACC implementation and a tonne of regulatory reporting obligations that change every week…then you have to navigate the My Aged Care portal.
Thankfully, the Commission has been really helpful in providing clear and concise resources in a well structured and easy to understand format…yeah, right!
And all for what? Somebody should tell the government that we still have low paid and unskilled migrant workers providing direct care (care?) to our most vulnerable elderly who have complex clinical needs and challenging behavioural issues that really should be managed by skilled professionals.
Maybe that’s too simple.?
Much better to have lots of complex legislation generating plenty of announcements and chest-beating so it looks like SOMETHING IS BEING DONE.
Legislate all you want, it wont change anything on the floor.
I couldn’t agree more with what Peter has said. Nothing will change until aged care is funded properly.