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Author: Quentin bngonline

Royal Commission Series: dementia and palliative care

Posted on by Quentin bngonline

In its Final Report, titled Care, Dignity and Respect, the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety made 148 recommendations for action and improvements in response to the problems it identified in the aged care system. 

We’ve gone through the recommendations in detail, and over the next couple of weeks we will be providing a number of updates on how SPP can help you to get ahead with many of the recommendations. 

Our focus today is around dementia and palliative care. Dementia care is one of the four concerns that were singled out by the Royal Commission as requiring immediate attention:

“It is estimated that more than half of the people living in permanent residential aged care in 2019 had a diagnosis of one of the forms of dementia. The real percentage is likely higher, given the prevalence of undetected dementia.

“Despite this, our inquiry has revealed that the quality of aged care that people living with dementia receive is, at times, abysmal. We heard time and time again that staff members do not have the time or the skills to deliver the care that is needed. The quality of dementia care in the aged care system needs significant and immediate improvement.” 

To address the above identified issue, the Royal Commission has made Recommendation 80: Dementia and palliative care training for workers.

“By 1 July 2022, the Australian Government should implement as a condition of approval of aged care providers, that all workers engaged by providers who are involved in direct contact with people seeking or receiving services in the aged care system undertake regular training about dementia care and palliative care.”

We have several resources that can assist your organisation to get ahead in training workers in dementia and palliative care. 

Towards Best Practice Self-assessment: Dementia Australia’s Quality Care Recommendations (2019)

This self-assessment is available in SPP’s “Aged Care – towards best practice” group, and is based on Dementia Australia’s Quality Care Recommendations, which were developed in consultation with people living with dementia, their families, carers and advocates. 

Working through the self-assessment will assist your organisation to appreciate how it can work to support greater inclusion, respect and ultimately improved quality of life for people living with dementia. In particular, Recommendation 7 of the Quality Care Recommendations “Dementia trained staff” takes you through worker training regarding dementia. 

Dementia Australia’s Centre for Dementia Learning provides a range of resources, foundation learning modules and consultancy services that can assist providers who wish to access more detailed material or training for their workers. 

Resources

In SPP’s Reading Room, you can find Policy: End of Life Care and Palliative Care, which can help your organisation to embed advance care and end of life planning into your delivery of care. The resource addresses recognising end of life, assessing palliative care needs, responding to deterioration, and managing dying and bereavement. 

In addition to this resource, SPP also has these advance care resources:

  • Info: Advance care planning; and
  • Policy: Advance care planning.

We also have some other resources that address supporting clients with dementia, including:

  • Policy: Safety and security in residential aged care facilities
  • Policy: Intimacy and sexuality in aged care
  • Info: Intimacy and sexuality in aged care

You can find these resources by searching for key words in the SPP Reading Room. 

To access these resources, and hundreds more, log in to SPP.

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You can access these resources and many more in the SPP platform. 

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SIRS, the new aged care incident scheme

Posted on by Quentin bngonline

The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission’s (the Commission) Serious Incident Response Scheme (SIRS) for government-funded Residential Aged Care Providers is set to commence in April 2021.  The new SIRS aims to further safeguard aged care consumers from abuse and neglect by empowering consumers, and by ensuring that providers follow the incident response procedures specified in the scheme.

The SIRS brings the requirements of incident reporting in aged care into alignment with those of the NDIS. For providers of both aged care and NDIS services, and providers familiar with the NDIS requirements, the new scheme will not present new compliance concepts.

The SIRS will fit in alongside several other residential aged care compliance requirements. Under the Charter of Aged Care Rights, consumers have a right to live without abuse and neglect. Likewise, under the Aged Care Quality Standards, providers are required to uphold this consumer right by identifying and responding to abuse and neglect. Additionally, the scheme will uphold the principles and requirements of open disclosure.

The SIRS is made up of two key components, being incident management obligations and compulsory reporting obligations.

The incident management component consists of identifying, responding to, managing, and recording incidents, as well as improving to prevent similar future occurrences.

The compulsory reporting obligations require providers to submit reports to the Commission within specific timeframes, depending on the severity of the incident.

Defining incidents under the SIRS

It will be essential for workers to understand which occurrences constitute an incident, as well as the category of the incident (ie “Priority 1” or “Priority 2”) and the appropriate procedures that must be followed when an incident occurs.

The Commission’s documentation includes detailed explanations of the various categories of incidents, which are certain “alleged, suspected or actual occurrences … where the person affected by the incident is a consumer in residential aged care”.

The types of incidents as defined by the SIRS are:

  • unreasonable use of force;
  • unlawful or inappropriate sexual contact;
  • psychological or emotional abuse;
  • unexpected death;
  • stealing or financial coercion by a staff member;
  • neglect;
  • inappropriate physical or chemical restraint; and
  • unexplained absence from care.

It is important to note that providers must assess the degree of impact on, or harm to, the consumer for each incident.  If there is a higher level of impact on or harm to the consumer, then the incident must be categorised as a Priority 1 incident.

Unexpected deaths and unexplained absences will always be categorised as Priority 1 incidents.

Supporting affected individuals

One of the requirements under the new scheme will be to support aged care consumers affected by an incident. The central component of this requirement is clear, ongoing communication between the provider and affected consumers, in line with the principles of open disclosure. Affected consumers may also require trauma or counselling services, and the provider is expected to help consumers access these services.

Incident reporting to the Commission

The SIRS outlines timeframes within which providers must report alleged, suspected or actual Priority 1 and Priority 2 incidents to the Commission.

Timeframe for reporting Priority 1 incidents

Priority 1 incidents have the highest priority, with the Commission requiring an initial report within 24 hours. Additionally, a follow-up incident status report is required within 5 business days of a Priority incident occurring.

Timeframe for reporting Priority 2 incidents

On the other hand, Priority 2 incidents must be reported to the Commission within 30 days.

In some cases, the Commission will require providers to submit a final report detailing the findings from incident investigations and, where relevant, how an incident was resolved. If required by the Commission, the final report will be due within 60 days of the incident occurring.

SIRS record keeping requirements

The SIRS will bring only minor changes to the current record-keeping requirements related to incidents. Providers will need to continue recording the details of each incident which occurs, regardless of whether the incident was determined to be trivial or have negligible impact. The SIRS adds another record keeping requirement: the category of incident will need to be recorded and, in the case of Priority 1 or 2 incidents, whether the incident has been reported to the Commission.

Quality and Safety

One of the central goals of the scheme is to “drive learning and improvement at a system and service level to reduce the number of preventable serious incidents in the future”.  The SIRS will encourage organisations to use the quantitative and qualitative data collected from their incident management recording processes to refine their procedures, minimise the likelihood of incidents re-occurring, and to improve the overall quality and safety of the care they deliver.

Further reading

We have several resources to help providers identify, assess, investigate, manage, record and resolve incidents in line with the new scheme. Our resources are intended to complement one another, and have been updated to take into account the requirements of the SIRS.

Our aged care incident management resource templates include:

  • Policy: Incident Management Procedures (Aged Care SIRS)
  • Template: Incident Investigation Template (Aged Care SIRS)
  • Template: Incident Register (Aged Care SIRS)
  • Template: Incident Report Template (Aged Care SIRS)

To access these resources, and hundreds more, log in to SPP.

Help with aged care incidents

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Child Safe Standards: what’s happening in your jurisdiction?

Posted on by Quentin bngonline

In early 2019, the Australian Human Rights Commission released the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations (the National Principles). The National Principles were endorsed by all Commonwealth, state and territory governments, who all confirmed their commitment to the National Principles. While it is a national set of standards, implementation is the responsibility of the states and each state is taking a slightly different approach.

So, where are all of the states at now? And what are the current requirements in your state?

New South Wales

What are the current requirements?

In mid-2020, the NSW Office of the Children’s Guardian (OCG) released the NSW Child Safe Standards, together with a Guide to the Child Safe Standards, to “help organisations implement the Child Safe Standards recommended by the child abuse royal commission and endorsed by the NSW Government.”

The NSW Child Safe Standards are aligned with the National Principles, and the OCG has confirmed that if an organisation is complying with the National Principles, it will be considered to be also complying with the NSW Child Safe Standards.

The OCG recently released the results from a survey around the Child Safe Standards, which demonstrated that many organisations have begun to implement the NSW Child Safe Standards.

Which agency is responsible?

The NSW Office of the Children’s Guardian is responsible for the administration of the Working with Children Check and the implementation of the Child Safe Standards. 

What is to come?

The OCG has released an Exposure Draft of the Children’s Guardian Amendment (Child Safe Scheme) Bill 2020. The bill will provide the OCG with strengthened powers to monitor, investigate and enforce the Child Safe Standards. The bill also seeks to implement a strong, preventative child safe scheme by enabling the OCG to proactively address identified gaps in an organisation’s systems and processes before an incident occurs.

What is the timeframe?

Consultation on the draft bill closed on the 29th of January 2021. The OCG has said that implementation of the bill will be staged over time, with the focus for the first two years being on building capacity. They outlined that enforcement action will not commence until 2022. They’ve also stated that their “intention is not to over-burden organisations with unnecessary regulatory requirements, but take a strengths-based approach to promote cultural change.”

Victoria

What are the current requirements?

The Commission for Children and Young People in Victoria oversees compliance with the Victorian Child Safe Standards, which have been in effect since 2015.

In 2019, the Victorian Department of Health and Human services conducted a review of the Victorian Child Safe Standards and their final report recommended that the Victorian Child Safe Standards be amended to align with the National Principles. The Victorian Government has endorsed that recommendation.

Which agency is responsible?

The Commission for Children and Young People is responsible for administering the Child Safe Standards and the Reportable Conduct Scheme.

Department of Families, Fairness and Housing is responsible for child protection and investigating matters where it is alleged that a child is at risk of harm.

What is to come?

The Victorian Government has said that they plan to implement the recommendations from the review of the Victorian Child Safe Standards. This will involve amending the Victorian Child Safe Standards, as well as the Child Wellbeing and Safety Act 2005 (Vic). The Department plans to align the new standards with the National Principles, with some minor drafting changes and amendments required for the Victorian context. Once the changes have been made, there will be a transition process whereby organisations have 12 months to comply with the updated standards.

What is the timeframe?

The drafting of the new standards was pushed back in 2020 due to COVID-19, so we expect that they will be progressed during 2021 but the corresponding amendments to legislation will take time.

Queensland

What are the current requirements?

Queensland has accepted the National Principles, however they do not currently have any broad Child Safe standards in place. Currently there are several different legislative and other compliance requirements for organisations delivering services to children, however these requirements depend on the type of services provided. The Child Protection Act 1999 (Qld) contains 11 standards which apply to out of home and permanent care providers, and contains some cross-over with the National Principles.

Which agency is responsible?

Queensland Family & Child Commission works with government and non-government departments to advocate for and protect the rights, well-being and safety of children.

Queensland Department of Children, Youth Justice and Multicultural Affairs administers the Child Protection Act 1999 and the Adoption Act 2009 and works closely with non-government and government partners in the delivery of child protection services across Queensland. This department is also leading the work relating to the development of a new child safe framework.

What is to come?

In December 2019 the Queensland Government began initial consultations in relation to the establishment of a child safe framework. At this stage we understand that the government is, or has been, considering their options for building a stronger legislative, policy and practice framework for child safe regulation.

What is the timeframe?

There is currently no publicly available timeline for the development of Child Safe standards in Queensland. However, we will provide further update if any new information comes to light.

South Australia

What are the current requirements?

South Australia currently has a set of standards called the “Child Safe Environments – Principles of Good Practice”, which was first developed in 2012 and last updated in 2019. Organisations that provide services to children are required to comply with the Principles of Good Practice.

Organisations are also required to lodge a Child Safe Environments compliance statement with the Department of Human Services via their CSEC online lodgement system. The compliance statement must demonstrate that they meet the requirements of the Principles of Good Practice. The statement must be lodged every 5 years and organisations must update their compliance statement whenever there are changes to their organisation.

Which agency is responsible?

The Department of Human Services South Australia is responsible for the implementation of the National Principles and the monitoring of organisations’ compliance statements.

The Commission for Children and Young People South Australia promotes and protects the rights, interests and well-being of children and young people, and advocates for children and young people.

What is to come?

We understand that DHS may be developing an implementation plan for the National Principles, however organisations will likely still need to lodge a Child Safe Environments compliance statement in line with current systems and processes.

What is the timeframe?

There is currently no publicly available timeline for implementation of the National Principles in South Australia.

Tasmania

What are the current requirements?

While the Tasmanian government has committed to implementing the National Principles, there are currently no child safe standards in Tasmania. The Children, Young Persons and their Families Act 1997 (Tas) has a number of requirements including mandatory reporting of any reasonable suspicions of children being, or at risk of being, abused or neglected, as well as mandatory Registration to Work with Vulnerable People Checks.

Which agency is responsible?

The Department of Justice Tasmania is responsible for administration of the Act.

The Commissioner for Children and Young People in Tasmania is responsible for advocating for children and young people in Tasmania generally, and for promoting, monitoring and reviewing their wellbeing.

What is to come?

On the 23rd of December 2020, the Tasmanian Department of Justice asked for public submissions regarding its Draft Child Safe Organisations Bill 2020. The Child Safe Standards referred to in the bill largely align with the 10 standards in the National Principles. The bill will require organisations to report annually on the implementation of, and compliance with, the Principles and Standards.

The Tasmanian government is also drafting some new Out-of-home Care standards. We understand that if providers are meeting the new Out-of-home Care standards, they will be seen as compliant with the National Principles.

What is the timeframe?

Consultation on the Draft Child Safe Organisations Bill 2020 closed on Friday the 19th of February. In their latest progress report and action plan, the Tasmanian government stated that throughout 2021 they will:

  • continue to progress the legislative framework for Child Safe Organisations;
  • finalise and commence implementation of Tasmanian Standards for Children and Young People in Out-of-Home Care; and
  • work with Aboriginal organisations to identify actions to further improve and embed the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principles across the Child Safety Service System.

ACT

What are the current requirements?

Most providers operating in the ACT are required to comply with the relevant streams of the Children and Young People Standards. For example, organisations providing care and protection services are required to comply with the Children and Young People (Care and Protection Organisation) Standards and organisations providing Out of Home Care must comply with the Children and Young People (ACT Out of Home Care) Standards.

Which agency is responsible?

ACT Community Services Directorate monitors implementation of the Children and Young People Standards.

ACT Children and Young People Commissioner promotes and protect the rights and well-being of children and young people, and advocates for children and young people.

What is to come?

In October 2019, the ACT government decided to regulate the Child Safe Standards in the Territory and began the development of a scheme. Public consultation ran from November 2019 until February 2020. The government stated that the language of the ACT standards would be similar to the National Principles, but would also look closely at the Victorian and NSW versions of the Standards. The government had planned to develop legislation during 2020, however we understand that the standards have been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For more information click here.

What is the timeframe?

There is currently no publicly available timeline for implementation of the National Principles in the ACT.

Western Australia

What are the current requirements?

Western Australia currently has a voluntary approach to the implementation of the National Principles, focused on capacity building, led by the Commissioner for Children and Young People (CCYP), while options for legally requiring implementation are developed. CCYP has enabling legislation to raise awareness, provide capacity building and consult with children. In 2019, CCYP revised their child safe resources to align with the National Principles.

Which agency is responsible?

The Department of the Premier and Cabinet is leading the development of a system of independent oversight, which will include the monitoring and enforcing of the National Principles for organisations engaged in child-related work.

The Commissioner for Children and Young People monitors laws, policies and practices that affect the wellbeing of children and young people and advocates for children and young people by valuing and promoting their voice within society.

The Department of Communities is working with other government agencies, the community services sector, peak bodies and other jurisdictions to drive the implementation of the National Principles.

What is to come?

In Western Australia, implementation of the National Principles is being led by the Department of Communities and the Department of the Premier and Cabinet, in partnership with key government agencies and the Commissioner for Children and Young People (CCYP).

The Department of the Premier and Cabinet is leading the development of advice to the State Government on an independent oversight system, which will include the monitoring and enforcing of the National Principles for organisations engaged in child-related work.

The Department of Communities is leading the implementation of the National Principles through a range of administrative and legislative levers such as funding agreements and regulatory frameworks. They are also providing support to government and non-government agencies to implement the National Principles in preparation for independent oversight.

What is the timeframe?

Western Australia is currently in the consultation phase for design of the independent oversight system which will include monitoring and enforcement of the National Principles. Organisations were asked to complete an online survey which asked questions around what an independent oversight system should look like, how compliance with the National Principles should be implemented, and what powers the independent oversight body should have. The survey also asked about what a reasonable timeframe would be for organisations to comply with the National Principles. The survey closed on the 26th of February 2021. More information is available here.

Northern Territory

What are the current requirements?

There are no general child safety standards currently in force in the Northern Territory. Territory Families operates the Quality Assurance Program, however this applies specifically to children in out of home care.

The National Principles have been endorsed by the NT Government, but compliance is not monitored.

Which agency is responsible?

Territory Families is the agency responsible for providing support services across child protection, domestic and family violence, and youth justice services.

The Northern Territory Children’s Commissioner has the remit of monitoring and safeguarding the wellbeing of vulnerable children.

What is to come? / What is the timeframe?

The Northern Territory has not yet indicated that it will legislate the National Principles. It is unclear at this time what the timeline towards implementation will be.

National Catholic Safeguarding Standards

What are the current requirements?

As well as the National Principles, The National Catholic Safeguarding Standards (Ed. 1, 2019) were also established in response to the Royal Commission. They are designed to be implemented by all Catholic entities, ministries and organisations across Australia. The Standards are closely aligned with the National Principles, with 42 of the 49 criteria coming directly from the National Principles. The seven additional criteria have been developed in response to specific recommendations from the Royal Commission and consultations across the Catholic Church. 

Which agency is responsible?

Australian Catholic Safeguarding Ltd (ACSL) is the national body for safeguarding. The ACSL audits compliance with these Standards, they publicly report audit findings and they provide education and training in respect to the Safeguarding Standards. 

What is to come?

In November 2019, ACSL commenced work on the development of the second edition of the Standards to expand the framework to include safeguarding requirements and practices for the protection of ‘vulnerable adults’.  The drafting of the standards was guided by a National Reference group, comprising members with experience from within and external to the Catholic Church and with expertise across various sectors and groups.  In July 2020 ACSL released a draft 2nd edition of the Standards. They engaged in a mix of consultation methods including group consultations, targeted consultation and an online survey open to any individuals/groups. 

What is the timeframe?

Draft consultation on the new standards closed on 28 August 2020. The feedback is now being reviewed and consolidated to inform the development of the final draft of the National Catholic Safeguarding Standards, Edition Two. A complete report on the input and recommendations from the consultation phase will be published in the coming months. 

The information in this blog post has been gathered through the relevant websites as well as through contact with the relevant state or territory agencies. We weren’t able to confirm the review status from some states at the time of publication, however we will update this blog post if any new information comes to light.

How can we help?

In 2019, we incorporated into SPP a self-assessment for the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations. This self-assessment is tailored to address all of the principles, key action areas and indicators of the National Principles. 

In 2020, we added a self-assessment for the NSW Child Safe Standards. These Standards are closely aligned with the National Principles. However, we have provided a separate self-assessment so that organisations can easily demonstrate that they are meeting both frameworks, or NSW organisations may choose to focus on the NSW Child Safe Standards. The standards are mapped to each other, meaning that progress against one of the standards will result in organisations simultaneously making progress against the other set of standards. 

SPP also contains a self-assessment for the National Catholic Safeguarding Standards (Ed. 1, 2019), which are also closely aligned to the National Principles.

We will be closely monitoring the progress of other states in their implementation of the National Principles, and we plan on adding new self-assessments for new standards that arise from the implementation process.

To access these self-assessments and all of our child safe resources, log in to SPP.

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Update on self-assessments for Victorian providers

Posted on by Quentin bngonline

Along with all of the national standards that are relevant to Victorian community and health services providers, our SPP platform contains a number of Victorian-specific self-assessments, including for the:

  • Human Services Standards,
  • Victorian Child Safe Standards, and
  • VRQA guidelines for VET providers. 

All of our self-assessments are designed to help organisations to:

  • understand their obligations as simply as possible,
  • monitor their compliance status, and automatically generate gap analysis and improvement plans, as well as
  • create compliance reports and evidence packs for reviewers.

In recent months, we’ve added a number of new Victorian self-assessments into SPP across a range of service areas. This blog post features several key Victorian standards which are new to SPP, and outlines some other Victorian standards that we plan to incorporate over the coming weeks.

Family Violence Multi-Agency Risk Assessment and Management (MARAM) Framework

The MARAM framework assists services to ensure that they are effectively identifying, assessing and managing family violence risk. The framework sets out key principles and elements that should be embedded into policies, procedures, service delivery and practice, and identifies the responsibilities of various organisational areas and staff across the system.

The MARAM framework is supported by a number of resources and tools to guide organisations through their relevant responsibilities under the Framework.

Our self-assessment contains links to the relevant guides, templates and tools, to assist your organisation with implementation of the framework.

Victorian Complaint Handling Standards

These standards are intended to strengthen and improve complaint handling across the health sector, as well as provide consistency for consumers, complainants, health service providers and other stakeholders.

Applies to all Victorian health services

All health services in Victoria are required to meet the complaint handling standards, which came into effect in June 2020.

Self-assessing in SPP

We have incorporated these standards into SPP to assist providers with understanding and meeting their requirements. Self-assessing against the standards will guide organisations through the steps to ensure an effective complaints management system is in place. 

Healthcare that counts framework

The Healthcare that counts framework articulates the role of health services in the early identification of, and effective response to, vulnerable children at risk of child abuse and neglect. 

It promotes collaborative partnerships across all sectors working with vulnerable children and families, to ensure that responsibility for ensuring children’s safety and wellbeing is shared.

Who does it apply to?

All Victorian health services are expected to embed the action areas and performance indicators outlined in the framework into their organisational governance and continuous quality improvement processes, and undertake an annual self-assessment to measure their progress against the framework.

How can SPP help?

We’ve add into SPP a self-assessment for the Healthcare that counts framework, which will enable providers to measure their implementation of, and progress against, the standards.

The self-assessment includes the five action areas to guide improvement, as well as indicators of best practice. Completing the self-assessment will assist health services to improve, sustain and monitor their responses to vulnerable children.

Domestic Violence Victoria Code of Practice

The DV Victoria Code of Practice is designed to enhance the safety of women and children in Victoria, with a model of best practice for services that provide a specialist response to women and children experiencing family violence. 

We are hoping to progress a self-assessment for the Domestic Violence Victoria Code of Practice shortly, so that this can be available in the coming weeks. 

Community Services Quality Governance Framework

The Community Services Quality Governance Framework outlines the principles, domains, roles and responsibilities of quality governance and includes measures of success, and indicators of poor performance.

It is designed for use across a wide range of community services.

We will be adding a self-assessment for these standards into SPP within the next couple of months.   

Need help in other areas?

Our sole focus is to continue to build self-assessments and resources that will simplify and streamline the standards compliance and quality improvement processes of community and health service providers.

Please get in touch if you have suggestions for other resources and self-assessments that could make your life easier!

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AOD: new self-assessments across the sector

Posted on by Quentin bngonline

An area we’ve been focusing on recently is state and national Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) standards. AOD treatment providers deliver important services across a broad cross-section of the Australian society. 

Over the last twelve months, we have incorporated a number of new AOD self-assessments into SPP.  Each of the three standards detailed below will support providers to implement the National Quality Framework for Drug and Alcohol Treatment Services.

WANADA Alcohol and other Drug and Human Services Standard

We mentioned the WANADA Standard in our previous AOD blog post.

Western Australian Network of Alcohol & other Drug Agencies (WANADA) supports services to improve the quality of life for individuals, families and communities affected by alcohol and other drugs, including community drug services, therapeutic communities and residential rehabilitation centres, sobering-up shelters, harm reduction services, and counselling services.

The WANADA Alcohol and other Drug and Human Services Standard was developed to ensure that safe, quality and evidence informed approaches are used for treatment and support in alcohol and other drug services, and human services.

The WANADA Standard has a strong focus on culturally responsive ways of working, and flexibility, which allows it to be followed and applied by a diverse range of human services. The WANADA Standard emphasises the primacy of First Nations people, and requires responsiveness across a service to the needs of First Nations and culturally and linguistic diverse people.

Our self-assessment on the WANADA Standard helps organisations work through each Performance Objective, with links to relevant WANADA resources and Interpretive Guides provided. 

ATCA Standard for Therapeutic Communities and Residential Rehabilitation Services

The Australasian Therapeutic Communities Association (ATCA) provides a range of services including detoxification units, family, gambling and mental health counselling, childcare facilities, family support programs, exit housing and outreach services.

The ATCA Standard for Communities and Residential Rehabilitation Services, 3rd edition, was released in June 2019. This version of the Standard has been modified to reincorporate the domains of governance and financial management, to allow member agencies to be certified/accredited under a single Standard if that was appropriate for their organisation.

We have updated the self-assessment for the ATCA Standard to meet the requirements of the revised Standard, incorporating the key areas of continuous improvement, and governance and management.

NSW Clinical Care Standards for Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment

The most recent AOD  accreditation that we’ve added to our platform, the NSW Clinical Care Standards for Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment were developed by the NSW Department of Health in 2020. The Clinical Care Standards outline the core elements of care that underpin treatment within NSW AOD treatment services. These standards apply to all drug and alcohol service treatment types and locations. They detail the foundational elements of care, support clinical decision-making and complement other sources of information that guide the delivery of high-quality and safe treatment.

We have created two self-assessments that are based on the ‘Service Review Checklists’, which are available in the Readiness Toolkit for the standards.

National Quality Framework

In an earlier blog post on this topic, we discussed the National Quality Framework for Drug and Alcohol Treatment Services, which sets a nationally consistent quality benchmark for AOD treatment providers. The National Quality Framework is applicable to all AOD providers, including those that receive government funding and providers not receiving government funding.

There are a number of accepted accreditations available to providers who wish to comply with the National Quality Framework. SPP hosts self-assessments for many of these accreditation standards, including:

  • Alcohol and Other Drug Human Service Standard (WANADA)
  • Australian Service Excellence Standards (ASES)
  • Human Services Quality Framework Queensland (HSQF)
  • ISO9001: Quality Management Systems
  • National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS)
  • QIC Health and Community Services Standards (QIC)

Other standards in SPP which can be used in conjunction with one of the above accreditation standards include:

  • Victorian Human Services Standards
  • ATCA Standard
  • Tasmanian Quality and Safety Standards
  • National Standards for Mental Health Services (NSMHS)

Is your organisation ready to begin self-assessment?

For more information about the Alcohol and Other Drug self-assessments and resources on our platform, sign up for SPP!

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Streamlining the general practice accreditation process

Posted on by Quentin bngonline

We are excited to have released new self-assessments in SPP for all three modules of the RACGP Standards for general practices (5th edition).

Quality and safety for health services

The RACGP Standards were developed by the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) “with the purpose of protecting patients from harm by improving the quality and safety of health services.  The Standards also support general practices in identifying and addressing any gaps in their systems and processes.”

What is involved?

There are three modules that make up the RACGP Standards for general practice:

  • the Core module;
  • the Quality Improvement module; and
  • the General Practice module.

We’ve worked together with the RACGP to ensure that all of the standards, criteria and indicators (both mandatory and aspirational) in each module are presented in SPP’s self-assessments.

How do our self-assessments help?

Our three new self-assessments reflect all of the detailed requirements of the RACGP Standards for general practices, as do SPP’s Standards Reports of compliance status with each module. 

Health services can use the self-assessments to:

  • ensure that team members understand all of the requirements of the RACGP Standards;
  • monitor their current compliance status;
  • maintain an up-to-date gap analysis, that identifies areas of non-compliance; and
  • automatically generate a continuous quality improvement plan for the standards, at any time.

They can also assign specific responsibilities to certain team members, and prepare for general practice accreditation by linking evidence of compliance throughout the self-assessments.

Who can use the self-assessments?

Many regional and community health providers deliver a broad range of services to their community – including GP clinics, disability and aged care services, family support, and alcohol and other drug support services, to name just a few.

As a result, they may need to comply with a variety of service delivery standards.  These providers can save lots of time and effort by streamlining all of their compliance work in our platform. 

Already, a number of regional health services and Aboriginal health services have chosen to integrate the new RACGP self-assessments into their other standards compliance and quality improvement work in our SPP platform.

However, our self-assessments are equally helpful to any general practice, or other health service following the RACGP Standards, who wishes to access an online self-assessment platform where they can streamline their general practice accreditation compliance, quality improvement and evidence collation processes!

Want to know more?

Please contact us at team@bngonline.com.au, or phone 02 9569 1704, for any queries relating to these new self-assessments, or to enquire about accessing them.

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The new NDIS worker screening check

Posted on by Quentin bngonline

With the new worker screening arrangements commencing next week, we thought it was an appropriate time to revisit a blog we posted in February 2020.

On February 1, 2021 the nationally consistent NDIS worker screening requirements will come into effect in all states and territories except the Northern Territory, ending the interim arrangements which have been in place since 2018.

The NDIS Worker Screening Check and the worker screening database

The rollout of the new worker screening approach follows the establishment of the NDIS Commission’s new worker screening database. The database allows workers to work in multiple states without obtaining separate clearances in each state, ultimately decreasing the red tape and compliance requirements for workers.

To support the roll out of the nationally consistent approach, the NDIS Commission has established a worker screening unit for each state. The worker screening units will be responsible for conducting NDIS Worker Screening Checks, and ensuring that the database is maintained.

What workers and providers will need to include in their applications

Under the new approach, to start the screening process each worker must apply to the relevant worker screening unit to be cleared.  Workers with existing clearances will have to do this when their current clearances need to be renewed, and of course any new workers will have to do so from next week.  After verifying the identity of the worker, the worker screening unit will conduct a risk assessment to determine whether the worker should receive clearance.

In applying for an NDIS Worker Screening Check, the worker will need to nominate an NDIS provider or self-managed participant with whom they are engaged, or are intending to be engaged. The provider or self-managed participant will then need to verify that the worker is engaged by them, or is intended to be engaged by them.

Rules which have not changed

Moving forward to the full rollout of the NDIS Worker Screening requirements, some requirements will remain the same as they were under the interim arrangements, including:

  • Risk assessed roles remain roles which include more than incidental contact with people with disability, and include key personnel such as CEOs and Board Members;
  • Record keeping requirements remain unchanged, with NDIS providers required maintain a list of the risk assessed roles in their organisation, along with the details of workers engaged in those roles; and
  • Rules for engaging workers before they have a check remain the same as they were under the transitional arrangements, and differ from state to state.

Self-managed participants or unregistered providers

If supports are being provided to a self-managed participant, or the provider is unregistered, worker screening checks are not mandatory. However self-managed participants and unregistered providers may request a worker obtain a clearance by undergoing an NDIS Worker Screening Check.

Residential Aged Care NDIS providers

The same worker screening rules will apply to aged care providers who provide NDIS supports. However the Commission has made it clear that aged care provider checks obtained before February 2021 will be viewed as valid for the full 3 year period of the check.

Queensland-specific worker screening rules

In Queensland, it is an offence for a registered NDIS provider to engage a person to work if they do not have clearance, or are subject to suspension interim bar or exclusion.

BNG Resources

To help your organisation ensure that its worker screening processes are aligned to the incoming requirements of the NDIS Commission, we have a number of resources including:

  • Policy template: Worker Screening (Disability);
  • Template: Risk Assessed Roles List;
  • Template: Risk Management Plan for Unscreened Workers;
  • Template: Worker Screening Register.

Want to know more?

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Elder financial abuse: early signs and what to do

Posted on by Quentin bngonline

As Australians age, they may require increased support not only in their daily activities and living requirements, but also in managing their financial affairs.  This could include assistance in paying regular bills, help in entering into financial arrangements as they transition into residential care, and ensuring that their finances are in order and their testamentary intentions are clear.

Stress and confusion

The Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety’s interim report noted that stress and confusion about financial options and consequences is common in elderly people. For people entering residential aged care in particular, the financial decisions that must be made are significant, and are often being made at times of great stress.

Potential for abuse

As they age, people become increasingly reliant on those around them to assist them with making these important financial decisions. This reliance on others leaves them increasingly vulnerable to financial abuse. The situation is even harder for people living with dementia, for people for whom English is a second language, and for people with difficulty hearing or visual impairments.

A 2016 report by the Australian Government on elder abuse showed that psychological and financial abuse were the most common types of abuse reported. The report found that around 70% of victims were women and around 70% of the perpetrators were family members. Early intervention or preventative strategies are key in assisting to identify instances of financial abuse.

Preventative strategies

One of the main barriers to older people addressing financial abuse is a lack of knowledge about the powers and safeguarding options available to them. Here are some important preventative strategies that can be implemented to minimise the instances of financial abuse in elderly people:

  • Providing clients with accessible information regarding their financial situation and their options for seeking financial assistance
  • Supporting clients to make their own decisions or, if this is not possible, organising a lasting power of attorney and naming a person that is trusted to look after their financial decisions
  • Improving knowledge and awareness about financial management and signs of elderly financial abuse among carers and professionals
  • Ensuring clients are aware of community support services that can assist them

How to spot elder financial abuse

Red flags to be aware of in elderly clients include:

  • Behavioural changes
  • Signs of distress, confusion or lack of care
  • Anxiety, nervousness or tension in discussions around a particular third party (including a family member)
  • Significant withdrawals from bank accounts
  • Any of the above behaviours accompanied by a request to make a change to the individual’s long-standing financial arrangements without being able to provide a reason as to why

How can we help?

We have two resources to help providers ensure that they are equipped to assist individuals with their money management and deal with any instances of financial abuse.  

  • Policy – Money Management for Clients Requiring Assistance
  • Policy – Elder Financial Abuse

These resources can be found in the Reading Room by searching for “money” and “financial”.

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Clinical governance in aged care – putting the principles into practice

Posted on by Quentin bngonline

Clinical governance is essential for delivering safe, quality clinical care and good clinical outcomes for each consumer. It provides the organisation with a framework for continuously improving services. At its core, it is about all members of the organisation, at all levels, asking: ‘What went well? What can I be doing better?’. Implementing a clinical governance framework will assist providers to consistently deliver good clinical outcomes for all patients and meet their requirements under various sets of standards.

The requirement for a clinical governance framework is consistent across the major national standards that apply to providers who may deliver clinical services to consumers, including the RACGP Standards for general practices, the National Safety and Quality Health Services Standards and the Aged Care Quality Standards. Although the three standards have different underlying approaches to clinical governance that are specific to their relevant service providers, there is commonality across all three in their focus on key areas including risk management, continuous quality improvement and consumer-centred care.

The Aged Care Quality Standards require aged care services that provide clinical care to demonstrate the use of a clinical governance framework (Standard 8, 3(e)). Standard 8  – Organisational Governance – of the Aged Care Quality Standards requires a clinical governance framework to be in place, which “includes but is not limited to” processes to address antimicrobial stewardship, minimising the use of restraints and practising open disclosure.

To supplement these high level requirements in the Aged Care Quality Standards, and to provide more practical assistance to providers, the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission has released a number of resources that address clinical governance at a more granular level, and detail the processes that should be in place for a clinical governance framework. The Commission has worked with a number of stakeholders to develop these resources to help providers enhance patient care and safety, allocate resources effectively and work towards continuous improvement.

Roles and responsibilities

Clinical governance encompasses all of the relationships within the service, and the way they work together to deliver safe and high-quality care. A key element of implementing clinical governance in practice is understanding what everyone’s responsibilities are, what they should be held to account for and how you can support them to fulfil their roles. Implementing a clinical governance framework not only assists all stakeholders to understand their roles and responsibilities, but creates an environment where clinical care can thrive because all team members accept responsibility for ensuring effective care.

All stakeholders must be involved in the implementation of the clinical governance framework, from the governing body, which plays a key role in implementing and reviewing clinical governance processes, right down to the consumers who play a role in working in partnership with the organisation.

     ·      Governing Body

The governing body is accountable for clinical quality and safety and the clinical governance arrangements within your service. Governing body members should set a clear strategic direction and organisational culture that drives safety and quality in care. 

     ·      Senior executives

Senior executives are responsible for visibly supporting and implementing the culture around clinical care set by the governing body, as well as reporting against the framework’s KPIs. They assist with ensuring that information, support and opportunities are provided to the workforce to assist them to understand their roles.

     ·      Operational managers

Operational managers must manage the implementation of clinical governance measures and support the workforce in implementing the framework.

     ·      Staff members

All members of the workforce have a role in providing care to consumers. They must prioritise the provision of safe, quality care and services to consumers in everything that they do. 

     ·      Health practitioners

Health practitioners are accountable for delivering clinical care that meets relevant professional standards. 

     ·      Consumers

Consumers themselves play a crucial role in the implementation of a clinical governance framework. Their communication of their preferences for clinical care, engagement with staff in the planning and delivery of their clinical care, and their feedback about their experiences are important elements of the clinical governance framework.

How can we help?

Our new clinical governance self-assessment is based on the resources developed by the Commission, and will assist providers to put in place and monitor the core elements of their clinical governance framework.  It will also help you to ensure that each stakeholder group understands their roles and responsibilities, and contributes to the process.

The self-assessment addresses the following areas:

  • Leadership and culture
  • Consumer partnerships
  • Organisational systems
  • Monitoring and reporting
  • Effective workforce
  • Communication and relationships

Within these areas, the self-assessment also segments the roles and responsibilities of individuals and assesses whether they are appropriately trained and have the competence to fulfil their roles.

Completing the self-assessment will help you implement best practice by identifying any gaps or opportunities for improvement within your organisation’s clinical governance systems and processes.

You can find the new self-assessment in SPP under the Standards tab > Australian National Standards.

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