The Continuous Quality Improvement Plan is part of the strategic planning process for Lodges On George. It is concerned with meeting the organizational objectives, the Commonwealth Government Aged Care Standards and all relevant legislation, Regulations, Professional Standards and guidelines within the aged sector of health care. The scope of this statement pertains to Lodges On George, a 93 bed, low-care service which is located in Kippa-Ring, Queensland.
Lodges On George strategic business plan directs the operations of the service well into the 21st century. We are also currently aiming to work wit other services in the region to establish benchmarks on which we can evaluate our service and provide another platform on which to continually improve the operations of our service. In addition to benchmarking, this liaison will enable us to network and learn from other service providers in terms of innovative new ideas and best practice initiatives.
Growing a culture of best practice, which is a comprehensive, integrated and cooperative approach to the continuous improvement of all facets of Lodges On George is our primary concern. This will achieve a quality service that is resident/client focused. It will also facilitate the marketing of Lodges On George as a quality service provider.
With the introduction of the Aged Care Act 1997, the Government's new quality assurance and accreditation framework marks a whole new approach to the provision of residential aged care services and their quality. It demands a challenging shift in philosophy by all involved in management, delivery of service and evaluation processes. Key features of the changes include:
Systems
Aged care facilities are required to demonstrate that they have effective systems in place to achieve quality outcomes for residents. Quality systems are the combination of the service's structure; policies, processes, resources and activities that ensure a service can meet the quality requirements of it's residents/clients. Quality systems are the management tools used to achieve outcomes and which enable a service to demonstrate that standards are being met in relation to each aspect of services delivery.
Continuous Improvement
Aged care facilities must have evidence and demonstrate that they are continually assessing and improving all aspects of their operations. Quality and continuous quality improvement are the responsibility of both management and staff within the service. The Commonwealth Government Accreditation process involves an overall assessment of the aged care facility with respect to the following issues:
Quality of Care and Service
- Standard 1 - Management Systems, Staffing and Organizational Development
- Standard 2 - Health and Personal Care
- Standard 3 - Residential Lifestyle
- Standard 4 - Physical Environment and Safe Systems
Quality of Accommodation
Certification - A score of 57 out of 100 or higher is required
Bond Management
Prudential Arrangements - Meet legislative requirements
Concessional Resident Ratios
Concessional Resident Ratios - Meeting regional quote
Consumer Protection
User Rights - Aged Care Act 1997. The User Rights Provisions of the Act include areas such as Quality of Care, Charter of Residents Rights and Responsibilities and Complaints Resolution
The Key Features of the aged care standards are:
- Focus on residents individual choices and wishes
- Emphasis on a culture of continuous improvement and of self assessment
- Focus on effective policies, processes and practices which are in alignment
- Emphasis on consumer empowerment
- Requirement for services to demonstrate continuous improvement in all aspects of services delivery
- Interlinking nature of the standards
The purpose of the Continuous Quality Improvement Plan is to communicate Lodges On George's approach to quality Management in order to facilitate:
- Quality resident/client focused service delivery
- Continually develop a culture of quality awareness amongst staff and volunteers
- Accountability to funding bodies and the community
- Marketing of Lodges On George as a quality driven service provider
- Enhanced innovation
- Quality planning cascade
Record of Compliance
Lodges on George is committed to the processes of Continuous Quality Improvement and Total Quality Management. The service is accredited by the Aged Care Standards and Accreditation Agency (ACSAA) for 3 years to Sept 2012. Further, the service continues to remain compliant with all requirements under the Aged Care Act 1997 and Quality of Care Principles 1997 as evidenced by subsequent support contacts by the ACSAA.
The service prides itself on the exceptionally high standard of care and services provided to residents' and, in addition to the above, this claim is supported by documented feedback received from residents and representatives, volunteers and staff in regular Lodges on George survey processes and regular written and verbal compliments received from a wide range of stakeholders in regards to the high level of care and services provided. Survey results continually indicate an exceptionally high level of recipient and advocate satisfaction (consistently 98-100% satisfaction survey results over the past 4 yrs).
Linking with the Community
As a long standing provider of residential aged care services, management recognises the importance of creating and maintaining strong links with other service providers and key individuals within the local and wider community to ensure that residents receive the most efficient, effective and highest quality services available. Lodges on George has actively established and maintains strong links within the community through a long association of working together and with the mutual recognition that these links are integral to the planning and co-ordination of care and services required by care recipients both now and into the future. This would also be vital on any future site.