Around 456,000 Australians live in residential care or use aged care services as of June 2023, and with Australia’s population continuing to age, finding appropriate and comfortable aged care is an important task for many people.
The aged care home star rating was introduced in December 2022 to help older people and their families make more informed decisions about the abundance of aged care facilities across Australia.
This rating system means that aged care homes can receive up to five stars as an overall rating based on four sub-categories.
According to the Department of Health and Aged Care, compliance is measured by:
In addition to the overall star rating, aged care homes are given star ratings for four sub-categories.
The four subcategories are how the residents feel they are being cared for, how compliant the home is to the Aged Care Standards, how well-staffed it is and the associated care minutes for residents, and quality measures such as medication management.
Resident experiences include perceived safety, care received by staff, food quality and how comfortable and independent residents feel.
This rating system for aged care homes follows recommendations from the Royal Commission’s recommendations to make it easier for older Australians to identify the quality of aged care facilities.
When an aged care facility fails to reach the required standards set by the government, they are added to the non-compliance register.
However, an aged care home’s rating is not lowered until a final decision is made by the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission. This means that aged care facilities that fail to meet standards may still retain their original star rating for a while.
Unfortunately, the current rating system doesn’t seem to make choosing an aged care home a flawless process. Some aged care experts have shared their opinions of the system.
Managing Director of Community Home Australia Dr Rodney Jilek spoke on ABC’s 7.30 report about problems with the current rating system.
“I came across Wallsend Aged Care in Newcastle, which was rated five stars. They failed all eight standards during their audit in November last year!” he said.
Read more about Mr Jilek’s thoughts on the star rating system in this article: Aged Care Home That Failed All 8 Standards Had a 5-Star Rating.
Additionally, in an interview with the Guardian, aged care expert, Professor Joseph Ibrahim, highlighted that people choosing aged care homes should be cautious about solely following the star rating system.
“See for yourself whether it’s clean or smells, how friendly the staff are, and the range of things to do,” he said.
In just one month, more than fifty aged care facilities, services and home care on the Aged Care Quality Standards Non-Compliance register have received decisions regarding future required actions to regain compliance.
According to the log, organisations have failed on criteria including:
Aged Care Quality and Safety Commissioner Janet Anderson previously commented on why organisations and aged care homes need to respond appropriately to clients and residents who share negative feedback.
“Good complaints handling centring on the person receiving care helps aged care providers to meet the fundamental principles of fairness, transparency, inclusiveness and accessibility, and builds a culture of open disclosure,” she said.
“In many cases, if supported by good complaints handling practices, providers should be able to resolve complaints before they are lodged with the commission. Providers who invite and act on feedback from those receiving care are much more likely to deliver a positive care experience.”
Australians can visit MyAgedCare online and search for aged care facilities by name or by location.
When searching aged care providers by name, you can filter services that currently have compliance issues and those that have previous compliance concerns.
To search by location, type in the postcode or suburb, the type of care and room and any specialised services, e.g. dementia care.
By learning more about aged care star ratings, and why the current system isn’t flawless, you will find it easier to make informed choices regarding your aged care.
Hello
With regard to the current star rating, I must ask why Carers and guardians of a very advanced Dementia patient not invited to participate in any information enquiries from the people who carry out the star rating enquiries.
This patient is not able to tell the staff if she is in any pain, this patient is not able to tell the staff if the clothing is uncomfortable, in other words twisted not pulled down and tucked in and I could go on and on but I imagine that you will have a partial vision of what I am trying to describe this patient is not able to tell the staff that she is hungry or that she is thirsty , This patient is non-verbal , This patient is non ambulant , this patient is not able to adjust or alter their own personal position except Possibly ?? leaning slightly to the left or to the right and mostly by accident, this patient is hoisted from her bed and into her chair sometimes she is placed in her chair in an uncomfortable position and is not able to do anything about it unless I arrive to visit and I find her in the chair in an uncomfortable position or her clothing in an uncomfortable situation, so I don’t have to keep writing more and more today to you. I must assume that you will get the message that I am trying to send to you.
I could not describe to you the amount of time and effort that I have spent in a good manner trying, to get some of these things down to a routine by all staff.
I visit my loved one every second day without fail and of course it is only when I am there then I can witness some of these clear problems that exist at that time. When I arrive, I cannot tell you how frustrating this is for me and all I can do is wonder how long she has been in that uncomfortable position or thirsty for example. Especially when I looked after ,carefully and lovingly All the things that I have mentioned above,for many years prior to her going to the Care Home .
I could not explain to you how frustrating this is for me when I know how well she was cared for At Home with me and some assistance from other Carers from time to time. My loved one is probably one of the most placid people you could imagine, and if you wanted to give 10 out of 10 for a patient she would take the prize, she never gives any trouble whatsoever under any circumstances.
I personally live every day grieving for The Loss of my wife from our home, where I made Sure that she received the best Care possible , always delivered with love.
I must question the level of training that new staff members have been given with regards to caring for Dementia patients
We have some Carers that are just amazing and a lot of those carers have chosen to do Dementia courses of their own free will however we also have often ,newer Younger Carers Who has obviously not had the training of the Carers that I previously mentioned, I have a very good relationship with all my wife Carers and I often ask The better ones if they have a New Carer
Working with them would they mind just keeping an eye on things please, and they are always willing to do that.
We currently have a new manager and also two new clinical managers. Which I am really pleased about because with one Clinical manager before it was almost impossible to have any oversight to do with checking on staff ,patients, quality of Care being delivered in general etc. Etc. mostly this is to do with advanced dementia patients however I would include all patients in that assessment.
With regard to the star system , I do not believe that it will prove to be a good system until such time as we have people who have almost a legal commitment to assess honestly and without any bias.
I apologise for the length of this letter however I can honestly say to you I could have written double the amount that I have written, but I am getting tired and so I will bring it to a close.
Thank you for taking the time to read my submission.
Rodney P Fewster
PS My name and any other personal information about myself is not for publication.