The Aged Care industry in Australia employs over 224,000 staff across more than 1,800 businesses who care for over 270,000 elderly and disabled – AND is growing fast.
2020 was a watershed moment. COVID-19 was, as the Aged Care Royal Commission put it, “the greatest challenge the aged care sector has ever faced.” Three-quarters of deaths from COVID-19 in Australia were in aged care homes. Australia must learn the lessons from the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety by building a new and high-quality aged care and support system that respects the rights of all older Australians.
The recently published Grattan Institute report calling for Aged Care reform suggested that care will only improve if carers are adequately supported. Rather than having underpaid, under-trained and under-resourced staff, a national registration scheme, better training, and better pay will improve carer staff well-being. Regulation should also mandate minimum staffing ratios and 24-hour nursing supervision in residential care.
Aged Care Financing Authority’s eighth report suggested that “the underlying difficulties confronting the aged care have intensified. And these underlying difficulties still need to be addressed”.
Technology will be required to drive more efficiency and better-quality management.
Cloud-based software and technology will be critical in helping achieve improved cost-effectiveness and quality of care in the sector. Increasing regulatory pressures will result in growing investment in cloud-based technologies to support more efficient business operations.
Through improved use of cloud technology, providers can access accurate information more quickly, anytime and anywhere.
The biggest risk facing the aged care and disability sectors in 2021 is inaction or apathy. Delaying implementation of digital technology will leave operators and staff to languish using manual and complex processes.
As the Aged Care Financing Authority states, among the challenges facing providers, consumers and the Government is to “continue to advance the reforms needed to ensure that Australia has an efficient, equitable and sustainable aged care industry which delivers safe, quality care.”
TUTIS_CARE is a cloud-based software solution that takes the complexity and risks of workforce management for the Aged Care & Disability industry. It straddles capability, training and compliance in a fully integrated system, plus leverages the power of Virtual Reality in ensuring staff engagement. Contact us today if you work in the Care Industry and are interested to advance reform in your workplace.