A third of audited home care services non-compliant
One in three services subject to a quality audit were non-compliant with at least one standard, according to the quality commission’s latest report.
The number of complaints about home care services has fallen slightly while almost one in three services subject to a quality audit were found to be non-compliant with at least one standard, according to the quality commission’s latest report.
In all, there were 1,108 complaints directed against home care during the April-June 2023 quarter – the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission’s latest sector performance report shows.
The most complaints by far, regarded home care packages – 1,015.
Once again, lack of consultation or communication drew the most complaints (255), then fees and charges (191), and consistent client care and coordination (126).
Care recipients made up the largest complaints contingent (555), followed by a representative or family member (469), others (58), and anonymous (26).
According to the latest figures, the quality commission finalised 1,061 complaints about home services during the period.
Before a complaint is finalised, the commission talks to all those involved to explain why the resolution process has ended. Most decisions to finalise a complaint need to be reviewed by the complainant and/or the provider.
The commission conducted 115 quality audits during the period with 37 home care services (32 per cent) found to be non-compliant with at least one standard. This appears slightly worse than the previous quarter, where 36 out of 121 audited services were found to be non-compliant (29 per cent).
Number of services where non-compliance was found with each quality standard:
The actions taken by the quality commission during quarter four by state and territory were as follows:
Additionally, there were 1,027 reportable incident notifications between April-June 2023, with the most concerning neglect of clients (560). Stealing or financial coercion by a staff member ranked second (253).
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Sadly some have continued, upon repeat ACQ&SC visits, to be non compliant for a few years. Where’s the accountability?