Every day first thing we spend 30 minutes discussing what is going on in the aged care space. This week we are hearing chatter about the change of attitude by the ASQSC assessors, led by a conversation with Evette and Mark Moran.
They say recently some of the assessors were almost ‘collegiate’.
This is a big turnaround for the Morans, lifelong contributors to the aged care sector, who in October last year wrote a column in our SATURDAY digital magazine out of frustration and dare we say anger, stating:
“We need to remember that the Commission is legislated to support industry, not to destroy staff and operators”
This was after an assessment of its Little Bay facility in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs.
It’s a captivating account (click HERE Page 38).
This week Mark tells us: “The quality assessors have generally shown a more collegial attitude and understanding of providers through the first term of the Albanese government.”
“This was evidenced at a recent assessment contact visit at Warrawee on the North Shore where we found the majority of the Assessment Team to be firm, fair in all respects and open to additional information and feedback.”
“One team member however was dismissive of the feedback, did not want to understand processes and failed to validate findings with evidence or documentation. This was identified in our response back to the Commission, who then proceeded to act with intelligence and empathy.”
“This is a refreshing approach in contrast to last year. The Commission are clearly wanting to listen and engage with providers as we experienced first-hand.”
Not one operator sanctioned
As we reported last week, the latest Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission’s Sector Performance Report for the June 2023 quarter states not one aged care home or home care provider was sanctioned in the three months to 30 June 2023.
Our discussion point: are well performing operators now being shown respect by the ACQSC?
Tell us your experience with the quality assessors: editor@thedcmgroup.com.au
