Page 5 - Colours of Cranbrook Summer 2018 Newsletter

5 COLOURS OF CRANBROOK, SUMMER 2018

Update on Aged

Care Standards

and the Royal

Commission

By Lisa Forbes, Clinical Compliance

& Education Manager

Transition to the New Standards

Firstly, we need to understand the new standards and identify how we change our processes to meet a wider range
of needs, goals and preferences across a broader range of consumers, particularly as the new standards are less
prescriptive. In addition, we need to continue to demonstrate compliance with the current standards in a climate of the
Agency undergoing change in its governance.

In a nutshell the broad areas of change are:

• All Quality Agency visits are unannounced the industry prepare for the changes including
from 1 July 2018. The visits are more thorough sessions called “Getting to know the Standards”
with more residents being interviewed and a raft of resources on their website.
than previously.
• In preparation, the Cranbrook Care Clinical
• All re-accreditation assessments are Compliance and Education Manager will
unannounced from 1 July 2019. be coordinating the transition to the new
standards, in collaboration with the Director of
• The new standards contain much of the previous Care Services, and in turn, with the teams in
standards with some areas having a greater
emphasis on thoroughness of implementation each residence, including the distribution of the
and evidence of compliance. These include; Department’s resources.
complaints management; continuous quality • This will be a positive change in itself as most
improvement; and evidence that the resident Registered Nurses and Care Staff do not have
or their representative is an equal partner in an adequate knowledge of the Aged Care
the decisions about their care and lifestyle. The Standards. Engagement with the teams on the
risks that the resident or their representative “what” and “how” each individual wishes to
associated with their choices need to be clearly be cared for and live their life, will assist in the
outlined and documented. Not only to ensure resident achieve their desired outcomes.
this is adhered to, but also that there is a clear • Early in the new year, Self-Assessments with
understanding of the risks.
each residence in order of their proximity of
• The Department of Health and Ageing have likely re-accreditation, for example William Cape
begun conducting education sessions to help Gardens, due August 2019, will be scheduled.