Aged care accreditation evaluation report released

The Minister for Ageing Justine Elliot has released a report, ‘Evaluation of the impact of accreditation on the delivery of quality of care and quality of life to residents in Australian Government subsidised residential aged care homes’. The report was commissioned in 2002.

The report found that the introduction of accreditation served a number of functions related to quality including:

• removing under-performing homes from the sector
• setting a minimum standard for quality
• raising the standards of quality across the sector
• establishing a degree of consistency across the sector
• developing a focus on continuous quality improvement and resident-focused care

The research also found that accreditation has become more positively received by the sector over time with increased experience in successive rounds of accreditation.

Aged and Community Services Australia (ACSA) is now calling for a new review of quality management, based on this report.

Mrs Elliot said the Government was always looking for ways to enhance the system to protect residents and ensure the long-term viability of the sector.

For more information visit www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/content/ageing-impact-accreditation-reports.htm