The law firm has issued a list to help providers prepare for the next stages of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety following the submission of the initial Provider Surveys and we think it’s worth sharing:
Identify your high risk occasions and complaints
- Go back through your responses for each service and identify the high-risk incidents that might catch the interest of the Royal Commission.
- Also identify occasions which involve issues specifically mentioned at the Commissioners’ initial hearing: elder abuse, medication management, over use of psychotropic medications, food safety (including issues around dysphagia), call bell and staff response times, wound management followed by death and poor record management.
- Identify the number of self-assessed “systemic failures” reported in your Survey response and review them.
- “You will be expected to have an understanding of why these systemic failures occurred and what was done in response not only on the particular occasion but as part of your organisation’s continuous improvement plan.”
- “If your organisation does not yet have a system of cross referencing the occasions and complaints submitted in the Provider Survey to the care recipients and individuals involved, we suggest one be developed immediately.”
Collate documents relating to high risk occasions and complaints
- “Documents should comply with the Royal Commission’s document management protocol, meaning, in addition to formatting electronic records, any paper records of interest should begin to be scanned and settled in the required format. Once prepared, we recommend this data be kept centrally.”
Seek advice on these documents
- Review these documents in detail for any legal or reputational risks.
Continue your searches for information (especially Q3,5 and 8)
- Recall and review documents that could not be accessed before the survey deadline – “comments in responses like “unable to locate documents; not accessible at this time” will no doubt be of interest to the Royal Commission”.
- “We also recommend that you review your answers to questions 3, 5 to 8 and begin compiling supporting documents for any statements made. This would include any data held by your clinical committees or management/Board referred to in your response.”
Ensure your representatives know the data that was submitted
Know how your organisation tracks against the recommendations of past inquiries
- Be familiar with the recommendations made in key inquiries like the Tune Review and whether you have adopted any recommendations targeted at how you deliver quality and safety in aged care.
See the full list HERE.
