A groundbreaking national study has uncovered significant inconsistencies in the quality of aged care services across Australia, revealing a wide variation between providers in key indicators of care. The research, led by the Registry of Senior Australians (ROSA) Research Centre and the Caring Futures Institute at Flinders University, highlights a concerning lack of uniformity in the quality and safety of care.
Published in the Medical Journal of Australia (MJA), the study analysed data from more than 390,000 people receiving government-subsidised long-term aged care. The research team assessed 12 quality and safety indicators for residential care and 15 for home care, including medication use, emergency department presentations and wait times for services.
Professor Gill Caughey, Associate Director of ROSA, said the findings were a wake-up call for the sector. “Highlighting these discrepancies matters because it shows what needs to be done to improve quality of life and health outcomes for older Australians,” she stated.
Significant Gaps Identified in Both Home and Residential Care
The study’s findings revealed major gaps in both home and residential aged care. For home care packages, more than 80 per cent of people waited over six months to access services. “More than 80 per cent of people receiving home care packages waited over six months to access services, with considerable variation nationally in the total time people wait for home care supports,” Prof Caughey said.
In residential facilities, the research exposed considerable variation in prescription rates. “In residential aged care, we saw large differences in rates of antibiotic use, with 14 per cent of facilities prescribing at levels above the national average. High sedative load and emergency department presentation rates also ranged considerably,” Prof Caughey explained.
According to Professor Caughey, the inconsistencies highlight a clear opportunity for improvement. She said that while older people prefer to age in place, this requires a consistent national approach to evidence-based practices. This includes safe prescribing guidelines and reforms to reduce wait times for home care services.
The ROSA outcome monitoring system, which integrates data from multiple sources to assess and benchmark aged care performance, is designed to help address these issues. “The aim is to ensure every older person in Australia, regardless of where they live or who provides their care, has access to the same high standard of care,” Prof Caughey concluded.
Ritchelle is a Content Producer for Healthcare Channel, Australia’s premier resource of information for healthcare.
