Food and nutrition for aged care residents across Australia are about to come into sharp focus as service providers deliver their first reports under new rules to strengthen individual care.
Federal Health Minister, Greg Hunt said the online reporting would improve transparency and standards, as providers receive increased funding through the basic daily fee of $10 per resident per day.
Under the new initiative, residential aged care providers were required to commit to reporting on their services, in particular food and nutrition, as a prerequisite to receiving the funding boost.
It aims to improve and strengthen one-on-one care for senior and vulnerable Australians in residential aged care settings across the country, and is part of the overall $17.7 billion the Australian Government is providing in response to the Royal Commission report, Minister Hunt said.
He said 99% of providers had taken up the 2021 Basic Daily Fee supplement, which requires a commitment from them to provide good quality services with a focus on food and nutrition.
“Such a strong take up must be commended and we now expect that all aged care providers will use these funds to deliver improved care, including food and nutrition, to senior Australians.”
“Food and nutrition is so important to keep our senior Australians healthy. The Department of Health is working with dietitians and nutrition experts to ensure the reports capture useful information, and most importantly improves the health of people living in aged care,” Mr Hunt said.
Minister for Senior Australians and Aged Care Services, Richard Colbeck said the 2021 Basic Daily Fee was part of a $3.22 billion investment by Government into residential aged care which includes the increased supplement.
In the first month alone, the Government has paid out over $53.7 million to support providers through the 2021 basic daily fee.
“This is a significant investment towards improving the care which senior Australians, their families and the community rightly expect in residential aged care,” Minister Colbeck said.
The 2021 basic daily fee reporting process is now open through the My Aged Care portal and must be completed by 21 October 2021, recording expenditure and hours, including spending on food and ingredients.
“We also require providers to detail how they are working to improve their daily living service offerings including food and nutrition, to gauge how the sector is delivering more for the senior Australians in their care,” Minister Colbeck said.
The information will be used to provide insights into sector trends, to inform future policy, and may be used by the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission for the purposes of regulatory intelligence. It is intended sector wide information and insights on food and nutrition will be made publicly available, he said.
Providers who do not submit a report by the due date will have their basic daily fee supplements suspended until the report is submitted. Given that there is no option for back-payment, providers are encouraged to submit these as soon as possible.
More information about the reforms can be found here.
To have your say on how the reforms are delivered, visiting the Ageing and Aged Care Engagement Hub here.
Nutrition Week will run this year from 10 to 16 October. Find out more here.
