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Home care packages fall short
Extra places welcome, but won’t go far in tackling
enormous backlog of applications, AMA says.
T
he Australian Medical Association
has welcomed the government’s
announcement of 6000 extra
home care packages, but says more are
desperately needed.
Health Minister Greg Hunt and Aged Care
Minister Ken Wyatt announced the additional
packages following the release of the
Legislated Review of Aged Care 2017 report,
and also pledged $20 million to go towards
fixing the My Aged Care information system.
AMA vice-president Dr Tony Bartone said
the 6000 extra home care packages, while
welcome, fell well short of demand.
“The Home Care Packages Program
Data Report notes that at 30 June
2017, there were 53,750 people
seeking home care who had not yet
been assigned a home care package,”
Bartone said.
“While the extra places are welcome,
they won’t go far in tackling the
enormous backlog of applications.
“These are for people who are being
cared for in the community, and their
carers are doing it tough. It’s one thing
to improve the IT system, but we still
need beds and packages.”
Clearer guidelines
needed
Nursing union calls for medication management
guidelines that cut margin of error.
T
he peak nursing union for NSW has warned aged care
providers, policymakers and the broader community that
current medication management practices allow for an
unacceptable margin of error and risk to residents.
The call stems from a NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association
(NSWNMA) survey conducted earlier this year of more than 700
of its members, the results of which have been published in the
report, The State of Medication in NSW Residential Aged Care.
According to the report, AINs are now required to do more
than assist people to self-administer their medications, yet the
administration of medications by AINs appears to be overlooked
in legislation and guidelines. “There must be clearer guidelines
for RNs to refer to when delegating medication tasks to AINs
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agedcareinsite.com.au
Bartone said the AMA supports better
healthcare through digital technology, but
the IT technology has to work.
“In its submission to the review, the AMA
outlined the multiple inefficiencies with My
Aged Care,” he said.
“In its current form, My Aged Care
cannot satisfactorily handle electronic
referrals from GPs, forcing them to resort
to outdated methods like fax machines.
“The online form for an ACAT referral is
not linked with clinical software, so it can’t
be auto-populated with the GP’s clinical
records, or be directly s