Aged care and older people
As older people develop more complex health needs and move more frequently between care settings, their risk of harm increases. Our resources support the delivery of safe, coordinated and evidence-based care to improve outcomes for older people.
High-quality care is essential to support older people’s health, dignity, and independence. We support health services to reduce preventable harm and ensure that older people receive the right care at the right time.
We develop national safety and quality standards that are designed to improve health outcomes across all settings where older people and other Australians access care.
Our Integrated Health and Aged Care Services Module is for organisations delivering funded aged care services under the Commonwealth’s Multi-Purpose Services Program. It ensures that services are providing older people with care that is person-centred, dignified, respectful and supportive of their choices.
Learn more about the module and how services use this with other national standards.
The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission maintain the strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards to make sure that older people receive quality care that is safe, meets their needs and preferences and upholds their rights. These standards are used by the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission to regulate aged care services.
We have several other programs of work that support best practice care for older people.
Infection prevention and control in aged care
Effective infection prevention and control is central to providing high-quality care for older people, and a safe environment for people working in aged care. Implementing infection prevention and control practices in aged care is complex, due to the variety of settings involved and the type of care provided. It is important for aged care providers and workers to find a balance between minimising infection risks and balancing the quality of life for the older person.
The Aged Care Infection Prevention and Control Guide
The Aged Care Infection Prevention and Control Guide and summary document is designed to help prevent and manage infections in all aged care environments. It promotes a systematic, risk-based approach to infection prevention and control in aged care that considers the impact on the older person’s health and wellbeing. It is a reference tool that can be used to inform daily practice, for ongoing policy review and development or to inform educational activities.
The Guide supplements the Australian Guidelines for the Prevention and Control of Infection in Healthcare and supports implementation of the Strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards.
We also have a consumer fact sheet that describes how older people can keep themselves and each other healthy with simple infection prevention and control practices.
Hand hygiene in aged care
Good hand hygiene is a simple way to stop the spread of sickness and disease. Hand hygiene means washing your hands with soap and water or rubbing them with sanitiser.
Our 5 Moments for Hand Hygiene in aged care poster and fact sheet are adapted from the World Health Organization’s globally recognised approach to hand hygiene.
Hand hygiene compliance in aged care
Aged care providers should implement processes to assess workforce hand hygiene compliance that are practical, respectful, and sustainable. We have developed the following tools to help aged care providers monitor workforce hand hygiene compliance in aged care settings:
eLearning
Aged care organisations and their employees can access the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission’s Aged Care Learning Information Solution (Alis) platform for learning modules specific to the aged care sector, including infection prevention and control and hand hygiene.
For information regarding the Alis system, please visit the ACQSC website or email education@agedcarequality.gov.au.
Antimicrobial stewardship in aged care
Antimicrobial stewardship means using antibiotics and other antimicrobials in the safest, most effective way which is only when they’re truly needed, and in the right dose and duration.
Antimicrobial stewardship is critical to safeguarding the health of older people, who are more susceptible to infection and medication‑related complications, while reducing the emergence and spread of resistant organisms. People who receive aged care services also have higher overall rates of antimicrobial use, compared with the general population.
The Antimicrobial Stewardship (AMS) Clinical Care Standard provides guidance on delivering appropriate care for patients who have an infection or are at risk of an infection. It has eight quality statements and a set of indicators to support local quality improvement activities.
Our guidance for implementation of the AMS Clinical Care Standard in aged care provides advice to aged care organisations and providers in residential, community and home-based settings where clinical care is provided.
Supporting resources
- Antibiotics (Antimicrobials) and older people – what you should know
- Asymptomatic bacteriuria fact sheet
- Topic antifungals fact sheet
- Antimicrobial stewardship in community and residential aged care (Chapter 16 of the AMS Book
Falls prevention
Falls are one of the most common and serious safety risks for older people, often leading to injury, loss of independence and reduced quality of life. Preventing falls is essential to supporting the wellbeing of older people and delivering high‑quality, person‑centred care. Our best practice guidelines help aged care providers reduce risks and improve outcomes. They can be used in hospitals, residential aged care services and community care.
Visit our page on falls prevention to download the guidelines and implementation resources.
Medication management in aged care
Our Medication Management at Transitions of Care Stewardship Framework describes how to safely manage medications when a person moves between different care settings. A stewardship approach means healthcare providers work together and take shared responsibility for making sure medication is managed safely, consistently and appropriately during these transitions.
A key aim of the framework is to improve communication between hospitals and aged care providers to enable timely discharge planning and post-discharge medication follow-up.
The National Residential Medication Chart can be used in residential aged care facilities to improve medication safety and provide a central point for medicines information. It also enables the prescribing and supply of most medicines, meaning staff have fewer prescriptions to write.
The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing have guiding principles for medication management in residential aged care facilities and in the community.
Psychotropic medicines in cognitive disability or impairment in aged care
The Psychotropic Medicines in Cognitive Disability or Impairment Clinical Care Standard provides guidance on the safe and appropriate use of psychotropic medicines. It has eight quality statements and a set of indicators to support local quality improvement activities.
Our fact sheet for aged care service providers applies principles of the clinical care standard to the aged care setting. We have case studies for residential aged care and in-home aged care that can help providers understand how to safely and appropriately use psychotropic medicines in different care settings.
Clinical care of older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
In the development of our aged care standards and guidance, we sought a review of important aspects of clinical care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples using aged care services.
Clinical care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples using aged care services: A Rapid Review
The themes of the review outlined the importance of:
- preservation and expression of culture
- cultural identity
- connection to family, community, and Country for older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
A case study has been used to explore the themes of the research: Case Study - High-quality clinical care of older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People
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