Changes underway for aged care

Video message from our CEO Nick Ryan here 

The final report from the Aged Care Royal Commission has called for fundamental change and sets out a comprehensive reform program for the aged care sector.

Recommendations range from a new rights-based legislation that puts older people at the centre of care, greater emphasis on care at home and improved access to allied health care – through to new workforce and governance standards and substantial funding changes.

As these recommendations are being considered by the government, Lutheran Services already has many initiatives underway that align with the final report.

Here are some of the projects we are currently implementing:

•  New food and dining experience – a nutrition-centred dining experience to support resident health and wellbeing across all aged care sites
•  Nurse practitioner program – new clinical care approach to streamline how we work with local GPs to provide personalised care and end-of-life outcomes desired by residents and families
•  Allied health and wellness programs – build internal capability to deliver more allied health and wellness programs at aged care sites, within people’s homes and across the community
•  Expanded home care service – upgraded systems and increased staffing to support more people living independently for as long as possible
•  Leading dementia care – review suitability of new training and monitoring systems to deliver person-centred dementia support
•  Customer experience program – new feedback system to capture the voice of our residents, staff and families to champion client-centred care that responds to needs
•  Organisational capability – roll out evidence-based workforce planning, competency-based recruitment and performance and development practices to build our capability to serve
•  Training and development – new performance framework (COMPASS) and leadership strategy to guide learning and development, support career pathways and promote leadership development that ‘professionalises’ how we work.

These are only a few of the projects underway as part of our five year strategic plan. This provides a roadmap for continual improvement and innovation on how we serve the people in our care and how we are moving forward together to deliver better outcomes.