The five-star rating for aged care homes is, we believe, going to be a PR disaster for the aged care sector, for the reason that nearly every home will struggle to get three stars at best.
What will this communicate to staff, families of residents, and potential residents?
The legislation has been passed and the deadline is for the star rating system to be in place by the end of the year – and New Year’s Eve is just 11 weeks away.
The law firm Maddox has explained the program:
The star ratings will be published as an overall rating, against the following four sub‑categories:
- the five existing quality indicators – pressure injuries, physical restraint, unplanned weight loss, falls and major injury, and medication management
- service compliance ratings relevant to the regulatory activities undertaken by the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission (ACQSC)
- consumer experience information to be collected from face-to-face interviews with approximately 20 percent of older Australians across all residential aged care services
- staff minutes of care.
We don’t know how the Department is going to achieve the face-to-face interviews with 20% of residents (that is potentially 40,000 residents) and how that data will be meaningful, given the mental acuity of many residents.
We do know that, on the floor, staff are likely to respond badly to a poor star rating after 30 months of COVID-19 and understaffing – and how do you improve your rating while understaffed?
So, who is talking about this potential PR train wreck? The concept of ratings is valid – but it needs to be constructive rather than destructive.
These conversations need to be had, and urgently. If you have a view, please send it through to us and we would be pleased to give it oxygen.
Email me at chris.baynes@thedcmgroup.com.au.