Aged Care Quality Standards

From 1st July 2019 organisations providing Commonwealth subsidised aged care services are required to comply with the Aged Care Quality Standards (Quality Standards). Organisations will be assessed and must be able to provide evidence of their compliance with and Aged Care Quality Standards performance against the Quality Standards from 1st July 2019.

The Aged Care Quality Standards focus on outcomes for consumers and reflect the level of care and services the community can expect from organisations that provide Commonwealth subsidised aged care services. The resource information on the website cites:

‘The new standards make it easier to check that people receive good care. Good care is not about your provider ‘ticking boxes’.  It’s about them caring for you and your individual needs.

Each standard says what you, the consumer, can expect. Your aged care provider has to meet an “outcome” for you. They have to demonstrate how they are meeting that outcome.’

The Aged Care Quality Standards are made up of eight individual standards:

1. Consumer dignity and choice
2. Ongoing assessment and planning with consumers
3. Personal care and clinical care
4. Services and supports for daily living
5. Organisation’s service environment
6. Feedback and complaints
7. Human resources
8. Organisational governance

Each individual standard is about an aspect of care and/or services that contribute to your safety, health and well-being. The Standards focus on you, the consumer and your experience of the care and services you receive. That means at Autumn Aged Care we will continue to listen to you to understand your stories and expectations so we can provide care consistent with your needs, goals, wishes and identity. We will continue to regularly review your care and services and monitor your satisfaction, as we know your health status and choices may change.  

Each of the Quality Standards is expressed in three ways:
• a statement of outcome for the consumer
• a statement of expectation for the organisation
• organisational requirements to demonstrate that the standard has been met

This means the accreditation process will look at the way we are enabling meaning, purpose and connectedness in your life. Our systems and processes will be assessed to ensure they support safety and quality care and services.

The Standards recognise the diversity of service providers and consumers requiring aged care services.  We are committed to providing a safe and inclusive environment in which everyone is treated with courtesy, dignity and respect, and in which no individual or group feels bullied, threatened, intimidated or discriminated against. The diversity in our workforce and consumers is valued, with equitable access to aged care and equal employment opportunity.

We recognise that all people, regardless of particular groups with which they identify, are not all the same, and groups are not mutually exclusive.  We acknowledge that there is no limit to the number of different characteristics a person holds and that no two people’s life experiences are the same.

We have strong and enduring community partnerships to ensure that ‘at risk’ groups receive the broad range of services required to minimise disadvantage and support inclusion, including working in partnership with culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD), Indigenous, religious and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender/transsexual, intersex and queer/questioning (LGBTIQ) communities.

We respect your choice to disclose or not disclose information about yourself.

We support our personnel to understand the difference between their personal values or beliefs and the legal and ethical guidelines that govern their workplace behaviour and practice. Our personnel are expected to be respectful of the differences and diversity of all consumers and their colleagues, with discriminative practices clearly identified as being unlawful, resulting in performance management or disciplinary procedures or legal proceeding being taken, appropriate to the action.

From time to time, the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission will attend our service to assess our compliance with the Standards. They will allocate time to talk with you and your representatives about your life living with us. This will enable the Commission to check that individual experiences of care and services provided are quality, person-centred and in a safe environment, and in partnership with you.

While we encourage you to talk with the assessors, you also have the right to decline. Information about visits by Aged Care Assessors will be available to you several weeks prior to the visit, and for unannounced visits, on the day.

For more details please click on the image

Autumn Aged Care was assessed in December 2019 with both Bentons Lodge, Mornington and Clovelly Cottage, Boronia being assessed on the same day.

Both residential homes were assessed as Met against all standards and were awarded the maximum 3-year accreditation. This is a very pleasing result given the newness of the new quality standards but demonstrates Autumn Age Care commitment to quality and continuous improvement.

Some great feedback was received and some examples are provided below:

Consumer feedback:

• While a consumer interviewed said they had not seen their care plan they said, “Staff listen to what I want, and not want they think is best.” They described how they were very sick when they first moved into the service however, their health has now improved. They described how they are supported to do the things they can such as having a shower, making their bed and putting their used towels in the skip.
• A representative described how they are contacted as part of the service’s ‘holistic care evaluation’ process. They described how they are unable to take their consumer to appointments and how the service has arranged alternative supports for this. 
• Another consumer stated that the staff engage with them regarding their care daily and they have participated in care conferences.
• A consumer described a nurse as “god’s gift” they described how they feel reassured when this nurse is around even if not in the building. They said, “Those girls will do anything for you… the PCA’s [care staff] work their butts off.”
• A consumer described how staff monitor their blood glucose levels (BGL) and inform them of the reading. They said if staff do not inform them, they ask. The confirmed they are administered insulin as required. 
• A representative said the service “Communicate really well…when [their consumer] was not eating they rang and let me know and when they withhold insulin.” They described a time when the service was concerned about their consumers chest and how they were informed when they were sent to the hospital and when they returned. 
• A consumer who is fully reliant on staff to assist with their mobility and personal care needs is satisfied that the staff are prompt when he calls for staff assistance. 
• A high majority of consumer and representative said they felt there was enough staff to attend to consumer’s personal, clinical, emotional and lifestyle needs. 

Staff feedback:

• Three care staff members interviewed stated; they feel they can identify any changes in a consumer’s overall health. They also stated they are supported by nursing staff to raise any concerns directly to them.
• The management team explained how they have a planned workforce that focuses on the needs and quality outcomes for consumers. Management and Staff said there is a nurse available 24 hours a day seven days a week.
• Most staff interviews confirmed they have the right skilled staff and enough time to complete their duties to provide quality care and services.
• Staff commented positively to the additional staffing hours added by management as an improvement to the Albert community recently.

Autumn Aged Care is 100% dedicated to the residents we care for and Excellence, Every Resident, Every Time. We are avid learners dedicated to progressive ways – much of our progress is via focusing compassionate and caring minds to resolve real problems that make the lives of our residents and staff better.

We participate in the annual best practice conferences and have extensive resources to delivery ongoing regular education and training to all our staff to ensure contemporary practice and skills are developed.