Ensuring Quality Care: Nest Recruitment's Commitment to Compliance and Quality Assurance
In Australia, nursing agencies play a crucial role in providing quality care to individuals in need, particularly in aged care and acute settings. These agencies are responsible for ensuring that the standards of care are met and exceeded, while also complying with regulatory requirements. This article delves into the commitment of Australian nursing agencies to compliance and quality assurance, highlighting the proposed reforms and the impact on the delivery of care.
Current Arrangements for Ensuring Quality Care
The present arrangements for ensuring quality care in nursing homes and hostels involve the assessment of compliance by providers with defined outcome standards. Monitoring teams visit these facilities to assess services against agreed minimum standards, known as Outcome Standards. If a facility fails to meet the standards, the government has the power to stop funding, either partially or completely. Additionally, nursing homes are required to account for a portion of their funding called the Care Aggregated Module (CAM) against expenditure on direct care staff and duties.
Proposed Reforms for Ensuring Quality Care
Under the proposed reforms, a new quality assurance system based on accreditation is set to be introduced. This system aims to promote continuous improvement and higher levels of quality in aged care facilities. The accreditation arrangements will be overseen by an independent Aged Care Standards Agency, comprising individuals with a representative range of aged care and management experience. The agency's role will be to promote quality management, oversee the accreditation process, and identify facilities that do not meet minimum requirements. The Department of Health and Family Services (DHFS) will have the power to take action against substandard facilities.
Abolition of CAM Funding and the Adoption of a Single Payment System
One of the concerns raised by nursing organizations is the proposed abolition of CAM funding and the adoption of a single non-acquittable payment system. The CAM funding system ensured that public money provided to nursing homes was used for its intended purpose and that providers were accountable for the funds. The NSW Nurses Association argued that the proposed system may lead to deskilling the workforce and compromising the care provided to residents. The collapsing of specific funding for skilled workers, particularly trained nurses, may have a detrimental impact on the nursing sector.
Ensuring Adequate Levels of Care by Appropriately Qualified Nursing Staff
Another concern is whether the proposed reforms will ensure adequate levels of care delivered by appropriately skilled and trained staff. The NSW College of Nursing highlighted the increasing number of people admitted to nursing homes with severe multisystem disorders and illnesses, requiring the equivalent of services provided by acute medical units. It emphasized the need for qualified registered nurses and those with specialist qualifications to provide the necessary level of care. The Royal College of Nursing, Australia (RCNA) expressed concerns about the lack of clarity regarding the care that needs to be given and the medical illnesses that nurses have to deal with in nursing homes.
Quality Policy: Exceeding Customer Expectations and Ensuring Compliance
To maintain and improve the quality of care, nursing agencies have implemented comprehensive quality policies. These policies outline their vision, mission, commitments, values, and behaviors. The quality objectives include meeting or exceeding customer expectations, responding to complaints or feedback, resolving non-conformances, and striving for continual improvement. Nursing agencies are committed to providing services of the highest standard with respect, compassion, integrity, inclusion, and collaboration. They aim to uphold regulatory compliance and achieve ISO 9001:2015 Quality certification.
The Vision and Mission of Nursing Agencies
The vision of nursing agencies is to be the leading provider of healthcare professionals, matching skilled and compassionate members with respected healthcare clients across Australia. Their mission is to become the best nursing agency in Australia, delivering exceptional services to customers and maintaining effective governance and high standards of integrity. Nursing agencies are dedicated to economic, social, and environmental sustainability while fostering a culture that supports their quality objectives.
Core Values: Thrive, Integrity, and Perseverance
Nursing agencies operate based on core values that drive their actions and decisions. These values include thriving, which means being fully engaged and growing into one's true self; integrity, which entails holding strong moral principles and being candid and authentic; and perseverance, which involves contributing to the evolution of the healthcare environment despite challenges encountered.
Behaviours: Integrity, Accountability, Continuous Improvement, and Teamwork
The behaviours expected of nursing agency members can be summarized as I-A-C-T: Integrity, Accountability, Continuous Improvement/Quality Management, and Teamwork/Collaboration. These behaviors reflect the agency's commitment to maintaining high standards of professionalism and delivering quality care.
In conclusion, Australian nursing agencies are committed to ensuring quality care through compliance with regulatory requirements and continuous improvement. The proposed reforms aim to introduce a new accreditation-based system to promote higher levels of quality in aged care facilities. However, concerns have been raised regarding the abolition of CAM funding and the impact on staffing levels and the delivery of care. Nursing agencies are dedicated to exceeding customer expectations, upholding integrity, and fostering a culture of continuous improvement. By adhering to their quality policies and values, these agencies strive to provide exceptional care to those in need across Australia.
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