Restorative care guidelines released
The Restorative Care Pathway clinical guidelines have been released, and while they may seem as though they require more work, Dr Claire Gough tells Community Care Review, the long-term benefits are substantial.
The Restorative Care Pathway Clinical Guidelines: Restoring Independence for Older Australians have been released, offering clinical recommendations that support home care providers to deliver the Restorative Care Pathway under Support at Home.
The guidelines also provide general guidance on ensuring that service delivery aligns with older people’s needs, to support providers in preventing and managing functional decline.
Caring Futures Institute, Flinders University Research Fellow – Health Services Integration and Policy Dr Claire Gough told Community Care Review that restorative care holds immense potential to enhance the physical, functional and cognitive abilities of older people, and enable older people to continue participating in the roles or activities they value.
And while restorative care may initially feel as though it requires more time and effort by the aged care workforce, it can improve individuals’ independence and quality of life – potentially reducing an older person’s dependence on care services, she added.
“It promotes safe and independent living while boosting confidence, reducing symptoms of depression, and fostering social connection and engagement,” she said.
But Dr Gough noted that the guidelines were general in nature, and clinical judgement and person-centred care remained essential.
“As the guidelines state, the restorative care pathway must ‘adopt a person-centred approach to meet the unique needs, preferences, and circumstances of every participant.’As such, providers will need to bring together teams of highly skilled professionals to ensure that it is delivered effectively and holistically,” Dr Gough said.
Other clinical recommendations in the guidelines suggest providers engage multidisciplinary teams to support the needs of each participant, their family and support networks, develop comprehensive and flexible goal plans, and provide culturally safe services – among other things.
Dr Gough suggested teams work with older people and their support networks to co-design and implement tailored strategies that promote independence, dignity, and quality of life, but to pay attention to ongoing assessments, communication, and flexibility, as they will be key to adapting care plans as participants’ needs evolve over time.
“The hard work starts now – translating these guidelines into action and working together to make restorative care a core part of how we support older Australians to live well, independently, and with dignity.”
The development of the guidelines was informed by a rapid scoping review and extensive stakeholder engagement, including 69 systematic reviews, 24 great literature resources, nine existing guidelines, over 400 individual responses to sector surveys, four workshops and an advisory group made of STRC participants, health professionals, care providers and Integrated Assessment Tool assessors – including Dr Gough – and can be found here.
“During the development of these guidelines, we were heartened – but not surprised – by the strong interest from individuals across the sector. Many were eager to share their experiences and expertise to help ensure consistent, evidence-based delivery of restorative care. The result is a set of comprehensive recommendations tailored to individuals with a range of needs,” she said.
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