The 88-page Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission (ASQSC)’s Sector Performance Report for the June 2023 quarter is dense with data – but one statistic stands out: no aged care homes or home care providers were sanctioned in the three months to 30 June 2023.

The report attributes the decline in sanctions to the ACQSC’s improved risk-based approach to monitoring. The Commission states that lower-risk non-compliance is addressed earlier, often with a Direction for Plan for Continuous Improvement. Non-compliance with the standards may result in a Non-Compliance Notice or Notice to Remedy, which resolves most issues, the Commission states. Where necessary, Notices to Agree are issued. Problems are less likely to escalate and become an immediate and severe risk to the health, safety and wellbeing of care recipients, the trigger for sanctions.

Nearly 4,700 complaints were raised with the regulator over the June quarter, and nearly 5,500 issues were finalised.

Despite the large numbers, the rates of complaints in Australia’s aged care system are relatively low. The rate of home care complaints per 100 consumers was only 0.39, compared with 0.65 for residential aged care.

The Commission made 1,368 visits to residential aged care homes in the fourth quarter. The most common Quality Standard not met was safe and effective personal and clinical care for residential aged care. The Commission has visited 99% of aged care homes in the last two years.

Staff complaints were a theme. Complaints about the number and quality of staff (second) and the behaviour and conduct of staff (ninth) were among the top 10 most complained about issues in residential aged care.

There were also nearly 3,000 reports of neglect but 641 of those relate to a single unnamed provider, which submitted 641 neglect notifications during the fourth quarter “due to medication management issues”.

For home care, the Serious Incident Response Scheme (SIRS) was extended to include home care in December 2022, and the data is included for the first time in this report.

In the June 2023 quarter, there were 560 reports of neglect in home care services, mainly missing a shift, medication management issues, and wound management issues that led to the wound getting worse.

You can read the report here.

The SOURCE: The fact that no sanctions were issued in the June quarter is a milestone to be lauded.