28 November 2014 (Updated)
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Good Practice Guide: Project Outline
Background
Key elements of the creation of the Commonwealth Home Support Programme from 1 July 2015 include the following:
- one consolidated program providing basic support;
- a standardised national assessment process that will include the development of goal orientated, person-centred support plans for clients. New assessment processes being introduced through My Aged Care will establish a new level of independence by separating the assessment stage from the service provision stage; and
- an increased focus on wellness and reablement.
These changes will be supported by a number of change management activities including a national training strategy for staff of the Aged Care Gateway and the My Aged Care Regional Assessment Service, and development ofthe Commonwealth Home Support Programme Manual. In addition, the Department plans to develop a Good Practice Guide to cover wellness, reablement and restorative care.
Objectives of the Project
To develop a Good Practice Guide that will support an increased focus on wellness and reablement in the context of the implementation of the Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP).
Planned Approach
The overall approach planned for this project involves building on resources already available in the sector. Wellness and reablement are not new concepts in community care – the UK and New Zealand have adopted this approach. Victoria and Western Australia, and a number of providers in other jurisdictions, are also employing certain elements of wellness, reablement and restorative care. A considerable amount of material in the form of communications products, training material and case studies has therefore already been created. We would like to draw on this where there is agreement to share these products.
Because of the importance of assessment/planning and service delivery, wellness and reablementresources will be sought for each area. However, work is being undertaken separately on the assessment and planning processes for the Aged Care Gateway and training of Home Care Assessors. CIT Solutions has been engaged by the Department to develop and deliver training for the Regional Assessment Service. Material that focuses on assessment/planning drawn together by this project is therefore expected to be shared with CIT Solutions. Furthermore, there will need to be a decision made about how much of the assessment/planning material is included in the Good Practice Guide.
The key tasksplanned for the project are as follows:
- clarify the definitions of wellness, reablement and restorative care as they might apply to the CHSP;
- identify examples of good practice with regard to wellness, reablement and restorative care – including materials to support staff development;
- collect resources on good practice in these areas;
- identify any gaps in existing resources; and
- develop a set of Commonwealth Home Support Programme resources (based on the above) which are appropriate for use by CHSP service providers (managers and staff), Regional Assessment Services, volunteers, clients and carers.
The timetable for this project involves commencement in November 2014 and completion by end March 2015. The collection, sorting and gap identification should be completed by the end of 2014. Development of additional material or further, targeted collection of materials would occur in the new year. By the end of March, we expect to have a good practice guide and a strategy for disseminating the guide so that it will be accessible by users.
Project Management
A sub-group of theHome Support Advisory Group has been formed to provide advice about the project. In particular, the Department is looking to the sub-group to provide advice about sources of good practice material and to comment on the proposed approach, material generated by the project and the strategy for disseminating the guide once developed.
Expected Output from the Project
The project is expected to lead to the development of a Good Practice Guide. This will be a document that introduces the key concepts of wellness, reablement and restorative care, with a particular focus on what managers and case workers need to do to implement these approaches. It will link to useful resources, particularly those available online.
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