Introduction: For health professionals working in aged care the eight new Aged Care Quality Standards provide a statement of the expected level of care that someone can expect from an organisation providing a good or a service. Australia’s population is ageing. Although palliative care is not explicitly mentioned in the standards, most deaths in Australia occur in people over 70 years of age and most of these people have some involvement with aged care prior to their death. Coupled with an increasing prevalence of chronic, sometimes life-limiting illness among older Australians the demand for care providers with skills in palliative care is also increasing.
Health professionals providing care for older people need to consider palliative care needs against each of the quality standards and the quality processes. Each standard has three components: outcomes for the consumer; expectations for the organisation; and organisational requirements to demonstrate that the standard has been met.
Aims:
The aim of this review is to outline the new standards and examine where and how palliative care intersects with these. As the standards provide guidance on expected performance rather than how to provide care, we also highlight practical resources relevant to the new standards.
Methods: We have systematically reviewed the new Aged Care Standards to determine points of intersect with palliative care. Drawing on our long standing experience in facilitating access to evidence based support in palliative care we then identified useful resources.
Results: Across each of the Standards 1-3 there is considerable intersect with palliative care and we outline how this could influence the consumer’s care experience and outcome. Potential intersects with the remaining standards 4-8 are also evident. We outline how the workforce and organisations can use existing resources to support their work, approaches and documentation in response to the requirements of the new aged care standards.
Discussion/Conclusion: Across health and care settings the demand for palliative care and support for older people is increasing. In meeting these needs it is important that providers understand how this intersects with the Aged Care Quality Standards and as discussed here know where to access support when needed.