The new tool is designed to hold aged care providers to account for how they manage their budgets. But it’s only as good as the data provided.
Already a subscriber?Shining a brighter light on some of the important aspects of aged care, such as how much is spent on food and care, is a welcome way toHowever, the information being presented through the government’s new “Dollars to Care” measure, which went live just over a week ago, is only as good as the data collected.
Resident experiences are derived from a survey of 10 per cent of residents and the provider can select the respondents.and where its income comes from is published. It’s designed to hold aged care providers to account for how they manage their expenses, income and budgets. We have already seen that the much anticipated star ratings system introduced in 2022 to help gauge how a residential aged care home is performing potentially adds to the confusion for those people trying to find the best care for their loved ones. The measures used for assigning a star rating of between one and five include data about resident experience, staffing, quality measures and compliance.The validity of the data has always been a concern, mostly because it comes unchecked from the providers themselves. Resident experiences are derived from a survey of 10 per cent of residents and the provider can select the respondents.Staffing is also self-reported without outside vetting and supplied by the provider.Each measure is given a different weighting and an overall star rating is calculated. It is published on the My Aged Care website.Families researching aged care options are often surprised to find that what they have heard are the better aged care facilities – based on favourable word of mouth and reputation – don’t always have the higher star ratings. Meanwhile, some viewed as the least favourite, potentially because they have a finding of non-compliance by the quality and safety commission, can have high star ratings. Complying with the regulations and standards within the Aged Care Act should be a big deal. It’s a key indicator to any older Australian or their family as to how a residential care facility is, or isn’t, operating. It turns out that under the rules for the star ratings system, there is a difference between non-compliance and a non-compliance decision. Peter Edwards, a compliance expert with the quality and safety commission, explained the difference in a recently published article after a scathing study of the star ratings by aged care consultant and advocate Rodney Jilek. Reading between the lines, when you are analysing residential aged care you have to accept that providers identified as failing to meet the standards under the act, which makes them non-compliant, have been contacted by the commission and will work to resolve the problem. It’s only when they fail to fix the problem that their star rating could be affected.All that can take months to play out. Meantime, an individual or family has to make some critical decisions within extremely short time periods, based on the information they have.Resident views The Dollars to Care data is potentially interesting information which allows someone greater insight into how an aged care home operates, including the amount it spends on food and workers’ wages. Using the data which is already being provided by facilities to the Department of Health, information displayed on the My Aged Care website include the total amount spent on food compared to the sector average, along with resident feedback on the food itself. The results of resident experience surveys and how they relate to key questions such as “Do you like the food here?” are also available. Reporting of so-called “care minutes” has been mandatory since October 2023. The new data gives a clear picture of a facility’s expenditure on care and nursing per resident per day and a breakdown of care minutes delivered by staff, including registered nurses, enrolled nurses and personal care workers.As with food, the data will now include results from resident experience surveys, which includes questions such as, “Do you get the care you need?” “Do you think staff know what they are doing?” and “Do you feel safe here?” A move to aged care is becoming increasingly costly, with more than 40 per cent of all residential aged care facilities now adding additional service fees to the existing care costs as a way of boosting revenue. This fee is often not widely advertised by facilities, but in the spirit of full transparency, it should be made publicly available along with the accommodation costs and as an income source for the facility. The additional service fee of between $10 and $100 a day is for things which may well have been previously included as part of the deal for taking a room in a facility, such as television in the room, air conditioning and choice of meals. That’s an extra $3650 to $36,500 a year people need to find just to be in their place of choice or for the only bed available. Costs are capped at about $55,000 a year, but that is expected to change, with announcements about the way aged care in funded likely to form part of the federal budget in May. Moving into an aged care facility is one of the toughest emotional and financial decisions we will face. The more information and help families and individuals can get to make an educated decision, the better.
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