Quality care in aged care settings
There are several documents that explore the concept of ‘quality’ in Australian aged care settings. These include:
- The Charter of Aged Care Rights
- Aged Care Quality Standards
- Standard 1: Consumer dignity and choice
- Standard 2: Ongoing assessment and planning with consumers
- Standard 3: Personal care and clinical care
- Standard 4: Services and supports for daily living
- Standard 5: Organisation's service environment
- Standard 6: Feedback and complaints
- Standard 7: Human resources
- Standard 8: Organisational governance
- Mandatory Quality Indicator Program
- Minimising the use of restraints
- Serious Incident Response Scheme
- Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety.
All government-funded aged care services must comply with the recommendations in these documents. It may be useful for students starting a clinical placement in aged care to review these documents and complete a reflection activity that explores their understanding of:
- Why these documents are important – for clients, for families/carers, for health professionals
- How these documents affect the health service they are providing.
These documents can be accessed from the Australian Government Department of Health ‘Delivering quality aged care services’ webpage.
