LASA leads on standards

EXPERT GROUP TO DEVELOP INDUSTRY BEST-PRACTICE CONSENSUS POSITION

Organisations providing Commonwealth-subsidised aged care services are required to meet government regulations and standards—in order to protect and maintain the safety, health, wellbeing, and quality of life of people using aged care services. While these standards and regulations are welcome to ensure older Australian receive appropriate, safe and quality care, one of the significant problems is that they can be very ambiguous—potentially leading to variable and inconsistent practices across the sector. At worst, confusion and inconsistency in the interpretation of standards and regulations may lead to a situation whereby a provider might misinterpret the standards or regulations, and therefore not meet requirements under the law, which may result in a non-compliance notice or sanction. Currently, the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission does not interpret the standards or regulations except as part of an audit process, and individual providers are left to develop their own expectations. Decisions made through the audit process are often inconsistent and sometimes at odds with common practice. To address this issue and support aged care providers in meeting requirements under the law, LASA has moved to establish an Aged Care Excellence Expert Group (ACEEG), comprising experts in the field including providers and academics. As experts in the field (with authority), the proposed ACEEG will provide leadership in the development of a consensus position with regard to the interpretation of specific standards and regulations (especially on current pain points) that align with best-practice approaches. The aim is to enable aged care providers to utilise the ACEEG consensus position paper as a supporting document to inform practice design and delivery. In the event of a disagreement between a provider and the ACQSC, with regard to the interpretation of specific standards or regulations, an ACEEG position paper can be drawn upon to outline expert informed leading practice. The ACEEG will also act as a point of reference for providers to understand the industry norms and practices, and provide leadership in the development of best-practice positions on specific issues where there is lack of clarity currently, as determined by the ACEEG.

The ACEEG will comprise of 12 Group Members selected via a structured selection process. Their skills will include:

• Quality management in residential aged care (or health care) • Quality management in home care • Clinical management of high prevalence aged care risks • Infection prevention and control (Residential and Home

Care) • Dementia care • Social support and isolation • Nutrition and meals • Diversity framework • Reablement and rehabilitation • Case management in community care • Person-centred/relationship-based care

It is anticipated that five members will have significant experience in residential care; five will have significant experience in home and community care; one member will have significant experience in acute care; and one member will have significant experience in disability services. Members may have experience in more than one area.

The selection process for ACEEG membership will commence soon. To ensure diversity of knowledge, skills and experience, Members of LASA State MACs will be asked to nominate candidates from their community.

External experts—such as academics, consumer representatives, and regulators—may be invited to participate in discussions on specific issues as needed and as determined by the ACEEG, where there are gaps in knowledge or skills. Consumer and regulator representatives will also be invited to provide input on issues, where appropriate.

LASA hopes this will fill an important gap in interpretation of standards and regulations, as part of our mission to be a strong voice and a helping hand for providers of age services in Australia.