Category: Uncategorized

As of mid-next year, all residential aged care homes will be required to have a registered nurse on duty 24/7 and each resident will get 200 care minutes per day, 40 minutes of which must be from a registered nurse.

Some residential aged care providers have found a ‘loophole’, by firing enrolled nurses, as there are no minimum minutes for enrolled nurses, only registered nurses. These providers are beginning to replace enrolled nurses with personal care assistants that have lower salaries, which helps them to be more profitable at the expense of the level of care they provide. Providers exploiting this say that there is inadequate funding for enrolled nurses under the new reforms, and so they have resorted to firing these staff.  

One proposed measure to prevent this loophole from being exploited is for the government to allocate minimum care minutes for enrolled nurses, like they did with registered nurses. Aged care minister Anika Wells is considering this idea seriously because she knows that enrolled nurses play a very important role and if they’re lost, a lot more pressure will fall on registered nurse.

A new drug called lecanemab developed by Biogen is the first Alzheimer’s medication found to slow the cognitive decline on Alzheimer’s disease. It works by attacking the buildup of amyloid protein which is one of the main reasons for cognitive decline associated with Alzheimer’s disease, while other medications have only helped boost brain chemicals but don’t slow cognitive decline.

Lecanemab is reported to cause brain inflammation known as ARIA-E in 12.6% of people which has the potential to be lethal but is treatable if taking Lecanemab is stopped or the dose reduced. Brain scans can detect ARIA-E in most people. 

Lecanemab has yet to receive FDA approval but could be approved as early as January 2023. This medication is most effective for people in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease. Lecanemab is not a cure but can slow the cognitive decline of Alzheimer’s disease by 27% as was shown in an 18-month study.

When the medication gets FDA approval and released to the community, we will better understand its benefits and side-effects. People with prescriptions will require regular MRI scans to ensure they keep on top of brain swelling side-effects.                  

With the recent addition of star ratings for residential aged care (RAC) providers on the my aged care provider finder, we are seeing that currently 91% of Australian nursing homes score 3-stars or more, meaning they are ranked as having an acceptable overall standard, with the other 9% of nursing homes scoring below the 3-star overall rating over four criteria, ranked as being below standard overall classed as ‘improvement needed’ for 2-stars or ‘significant improvement needed’ for 1-star.

It’s good that we’re seeing just a small percentage of nursing homes with below standard overall scores. However, we’re seeing a whopping 65% of nursing homes totalling to 1,600 that rank below standard rating with improvement needed or significant improvement needed for the staffing criterion. This finding is unsettling, as seniors have the right to high quality care.

Aged and Community Care Providers Association head Tom Symondson said, “I think the reality is we cannot find enough people in Australia today to fill all the roles we need.”

There have been major staff shortages since covid, paired with low wages adding to the problem. Staffing issues are likely not to go away until pay rises start to get introduced mid next year, and when more international workers come to work in the industry.

In-home aged care reduces the number of possible staffing issues, due to in-home care being 1 to 1 care. Caregivers are personally matched based on the preferences of clients and other compatibility factors.

The star rating system rates residential aged care providers from one to five, with 1 star being below standard, 3 stars being average, and 5 stars being outstanding.

The aged care rating system gives older Australians, families, and carers the opportunity to compare residential aged care providers to make informed decisions on the care they want to receive or who they choose to work for.

If the rating system is not accurate, people will be misinformed about the quality of care they can expect. Senator Ruston said compliance data should be updated daily, to prevent any out-of-date and misleading information being released to the community, and for the government to provide this information to the public domain knowing that the information may not be accurate is distressing.

An example of the information being out-of-date is Blue Haven Bonaira aged care facility in Kiama, that has a 3-star overall rating and 4-star compliance rating, with a comment stating it has had no compliance issues in a year as of the end of September. However, in November it was revealed that Blue Haven Bonaira failed six of eight compliance standards, and an improvement notice was issued over its finances.

Some people believe that the system should be scrapped due to these star ratings scaring older Australians and their families, while others believe that it will raise the standards for residential aged care facilities.

Covid-19 oral treatments are now available, reducing the effects of covid-19 and help the immune system to kick in. Research suggests that both Lagevrio and Paxlovid are effective in reducing the likelihood of hospitalisations and deaths. Paxlovid is far more effective than lagevrio at reducing hospitalisations and deaths, however it is not recommended for those that have pre-existing medical conditions such as kidney or liver disease. Paxlovid also has several interactions with other common medications that makes this an unsuitable option for some people.

Not everyone is eligible to access these antiviral medications. As seen on the Department of Health and Aged Care website.

Eligibility criteria:

If you test positive for COVID-19, you may be eligible for antiviral treatments if you are:

• 70 years of age or older, regardless of risk factors and with or without symptoms
• 50 years of age or older with 2 additional risk factors
• First Nations person, 30 years of age or older and with 1 additional risk factor
• 18 years of age or older and moderately to severely immunocompromised.

These treatments require a prescription, so before making this prescription, your doctor will choose the treatment that is right for you.

Check your risk factors and eligibility.

Providers will no longer be able to charge exit fees.

Providers cannot charge package management fees when you didn’t receive any services from them.

There are set limits for management fees that will be providers can charge, now being set to 20% for care management and 15% for package management.

Charges for brokerage or subcontracting of goods or services must be charged all-inclusively and agreed on before good is purchased or services commence. Providers cannot charge a separate handling or invoicing fee.

These changes will force some providers to be more transparent when it comes to fees and drop their fees, in turn giving a lot of seniors more hours for their home care packages than before when they could charge 40-50% of people’s home care packages, with the addition of exit fees, and hidden fees.

View the Home Care Packages pricing update via the link on this page.

December is Universal Human Rights Month. This is a good time to reflect on the way we treat others, our views on how everyone deserves to be treated, how our country upholds human rights, and what could be done better.

You can celebrate universal human rights month by doing something good for others, whether big or small.

When it comes to the aged care industry in Australia, everyone has the right to high quality care and services, always treated with respect, listened to, and understood. For a full list of rights, head to the my aged care website. 

The federal government has just released a Covid Health Management plan for 2023. Some of the key points of the plan can be seen below:

• Covid admissions to hospitals will be funded by the government.
• Covid vaccine program will be extended until December 2023.
• Only individuals who get a medical referral can get a PCR test as of next year.
• Getting a PCR test is not required nor advised for low-risk people.
• More assistance will be available for aged care, First Nations, disability, and multicultural communities.
• Individuals can get 10 Subsidised consultations with psychologists.

The COVID health management plan for 2023 will cost an additional $2.9 billion and is being implemented at a time when cases in NSW are surging, with 40,000 cases and 48 fatalities reported in the most recent week. Covid is expected to continue developing for at least two more years but is not expected to develop into a very severe strain.

View the full plan

There are currently no restrictions limiting the number of visitors in the residential aged care and home settings this Christmas in Melbourne, Victoria.

However, for the residential aged care setting, all visitors and staff should wear a mask when visiting.

People that are not feeling well should not risk visiting elderly and social distancing should be practiced where possible. We encourage visiting elderly loved ones, as for some, Christmas can be a lonely time, and time is precious.

Changes to the residential aged care funding model took place on October 1, and with this, residents are getting more time with nurses and personal care workers, however a survey from Allied Health Professions Australia (AHPA) has found that allied health professionals working in nursing homes are experiencing reduced hours since funding model changes. As a result, one in eight allied health professionals have lost their jobs and further 30 per cent are planning to leave the residential aged care sector.

AHPA CEO Bronwyn Morris-Donovan states that we’re seeing serious impacts as a result of the government not setting allied health benchmarks such as minimum allied health minutes or targeted funding.