The Aged Care Quality Standards Explained
Published: 24 August 2022
Published: 24 August 2022
The eight Aged Care Quality Standards came into effect on 1 July 2019 (ACQSC 2022).
All Australian government-funded aged care providers need to meet these standards, regardless of what type of aged care service they are offering (My Aged Care 2022).
The Aged Care Quality Standards help clients understand what ‘good care’ looks and feels like, and helps providers understand how to achieve it.
Note: The Standards refer to clients and residents as ‘consumers’. This Article will adopt the same terminology.
A consumer is to be treated with dignity and respect, and is able to maintain their identity. They are able to make informed choices about their care and services, and live the life they choose.
To meet this Standard, an organisation must pledge to cultivate and maintain a culture of inclusion and respect for consumers and create a space in which consumers can exercise choice and independence. The organisation also pledges to respect the consumer’s privacy.
This Standard acknowledges the importance of an individual’s ability to maintain their sense of self in the healthcare system. This means consumers should feel that their identity, culture and diversity is valued by the facility and staff.
Standard 1 also encompasses:
(My Aged Care 2022; ACQSC 2021)
A consumer is a partner in ongoing assessment and planning that helps them get the care and services they need for their own health and wellbeing.
Under this Standard, an organisation pledges to undertake initial and continuous assessment and planning for care and services in close collaboration with the consumer. The consumer’s needs, goals and preferences are the cornerstone of care provision, assessment and planning.
This Standard outlines what organisations need to do to plan care and services with consumers, which, in essence, is to listen to what the consumer wants and work out a way to achieve that (within reason).
This Standard also includes:
(My Aged Care 2022; ACQSC 2021)
A consumer receives personal care, clinical care, or both, that is safe and right for them.
To meet this Standard, an organisation promises to provide safe and effective personal care, clinical care, or both, in accordance with a consumer’s needs, goals and preferences.
The purpose of this Standard is to ensure that consumers and the community receive a safe, effective and quality provision of personal and clinical care aligned with their values.
(My Aged Care 2022; ACQSC 2021)
A consumer gets the services and supports for daily living that are important for their health and wellbeing, and that enable them to do the things they want to do.
The organisation promises to provide safe and effective services and supports for daily living that facilitates a consumer’s independence, health, wellbeing and overall quality of life.
This Standard recognises that a consumer is entitled to services and supports for daily living covering a wide range of options that aim to support consumers to live as independently as possible and enjoy life. This includes but is not limited to food services, domestic assistance and recreational and social activities.
This Standard encompasses:
(My Aged Care 2022; ACQSC 2021)
A consumer feels they belong and are safe and comfortable in the organisation’s service environment.
The organisation commits to providing a safe and comfortable service environment that facilitates the consumer’s independence, function and enjoyment.
This Standard is designed to ensure that the service environment of an organisation is clean, comfortable, welcoming and well-maintained.
It also requires the service environment to:
(My Aged Care 2022; ACQSC 2021)
A consumer feels safe, encouraged and supported to give feedback and make complaints. They are engaged in processes to address their feedback and complaints, and appropriate action is taken as a result.
The organisation is committed to not only listening to, but seeking input and feedback from parties including consumers, carers and the workforce, among others. This feedback is then integral to future improvement on an organisation-wide scale.
This Standard is in place to ensure that an organisation has a system in place to resolve complaints. This system must be fair, accessible, prompt and confidential.
This Standard also incorporates:
(My Aged Care 2022; ACQSC 2021)
A consumer receives quality care and services when they need them from people who are knowledgeable, capable, and caring.
An organisation is committed to a workforce that is sufficient, skilled and qualified to provide effective, safe, respectful and quality care.
This Standard also analyses the following:
(My Aged Care 2022; ACQSC 2021)
A consumer is confident the organisation is well run. They feel it is possible to partner in improving the provision of care and services.
The governing body of the organisation is held accountable for the provision of safe and quality care and services.
The governing body, which outlines the strategic aims of the organisation, should encourage a culture of safety and quality. Government systems such as the following are in place:
An organisation must also be able to demonstrate the following:
(My Aged Care 2022; ACQSC 2021)
The following material is supplied by the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission to provide a clear explanation about the accreditation evaluation process: https://www.agedcarequality.gov.au/consumers/about-accreditation
Question 1 of 3
Which of the following is a guiding principle of Standard 6?