Category: Aged Care

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Aged Care

Ansvar tells Aged Care Sector – “Boards need to act now on Risk Management”

Leading Aged Care insurer – Ansvar – wants the sector to know that more effective risk management has become even more critical for all providers, with insurability at risk, and that Ansvar remains committed to assisting providers to deliver effective risk frameworks and governance.

Ansvar CEO Warren Hutcheon warns insurability of the sector has become extremely challenging due to its complex risk environment and a hardening insurance market.

Risks confronting the sector are increasingly complex and aged care is likely to experience more frequent disruptions and continued public scrutiny.  Already under the spotlight by the Aged Care Royal Commission, the impact of COVID-19 has further exposed significant implications for Boards and Executives arising out of these events.

Add in a hardening insurance market that will see premium rises and greater expectations placed on insureds to demonstrate effective risk frameworks, and insurability becomes a risk itself.

“Only those organisations with mature risk management frameworks in place will be able to purchase suitable protection, at affordable premiums. Risk maturity will not just happen- risk leadership is critical,” Mr Hutcheon said.

“Boards and Executives play a key role. What we have seen across the sector is that when risk leadership is prioritized, more effective frameworks are embedded and there is a greater sense of comfort with managing key risks and improving organizational outcomes”.

Mr Hutcheon and Anthony Black, National Care Practice Leader and Senior Risk Consultant for Ansvar Risk, outlined Ansvar’s unique approach to Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) to the Leading Age Services Australia (LASA) Congress this week – including advice on how to step up risk leadership, the “big 5” risks that should be on every provider’s radar and how to incorporate risk with strategic planning.

Ansvar insures more than 800 Aged care providers in Australia and is a trusted risk and governance advisor to the Care sector. “We want to share our industry knowledge and experience with important risk leadership and insurance considerations for Boards and Executives, so that the sector thrives and grasps the opportunities ahead by managing risk well. We are invested in the sector and we plan to stay committed to building and supporting risk capability.”

 

About Ansvar

Ansvar is a leading specialist provider of insurance and risk management services to faith, community, care, heritage and education sectors in Australia. Ansvar partners with brokers to deliver its services under Ansvar Insurance, Ansvar Risk and Ansvar Personal.

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Aged Care

Ansvar participates in LASA Congress – Wednesday 21 October 2020

Elderly man speaking to a nurse

Leading Aged Care insurer – Ansvar – will be presenting on Day Eight of the virtual congress for the Leading Age Services Australia (LASA) on “Protection, Growth and Resilience: Getting the most from your Risk and Insurance Strategy”.

Warren Hutcheon, Ansvar CEO, wants the Aged Care sector to know that more effective risk management has become even more critical for all providers, with insurability at risk, and that Ansvar remains committed to assisting providers to deliver effective risk frameworks and governance.

Mr Hutcheon and Anthony Black, National Care Practice Leader and Senior Risk Consultant for Ansvar Risk, will outline Ansvar’s unique approach to Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) – including advice on how to step up risk leadership, the “big 5” risks that should be on every provider’s radar and how to incorporate risk with strategic planning.

Ansvar insures more than 800 Aged care providers in Australia and is a trusted risk and governance a

dvisor to the Care sector.

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Aged Care

Aged Care Providers fronting Royal Commission – See Ansvar first!

Ansvar National Technical Claims Manager, Christian Muddle, has a simple message for Aged Care providers that are due to give evidence at the Aged Care Royal Commission:

“Clients who receive notices requiring attendance, statements or production of documents should get in touch with their broker or Ansvar straight away.”

Christian also has three easy steps for clients:

1) Check with Ansvar to see exactly what cover your policy provides;
2) Take advantage of the skills that Ansvar’s expert legal panel can provide; and
3) Allow Ansvar to assist in a debriefing of the hearing, to feed back into your enterprise risk management processes.

Christian says it is vital that clients act now to prepare properly for the Royal Commission hearings.

“We are happy to talk about what has been requested and is required in a response, and how your policy may respond, so you know exactly how you are covered.

“Our legal panel is put together from the best full-service and insurance specialist firms. These firms all have Royal Commission experience – both in advising on responding to and attending, and dealing with claims for compensation arising from matters raised during, Royal Commissions.

“Many of these firms have particular expertise in dealing with aged care from the point of view of claims, complaints to regulators, and coronial inquiries balancing both client and insurer expectations.”

Christian says now that the general responses are in, the focus of the Commission is now on providers who are being asked to produce documents related to specific complaints or individuals.

“This is more likely to trigger cover under Ansvar’s policies than the more general request for information.”

“There’s a need to be really prepared with records on individuals and the issues around them.

Christian notes that the Commission’s initial Request for Information issued to all providers was general in nature and in most cases coverage for legal costs was not available as a result. Now things, in some cases, are changing.

With that is a reminder to clients and brokers of disclosure obligations and agreements on costs.

“Clients must seek our agreement to use outside experts. That’s another reason they should come to us first.

“One thing we’ve learned from previous Royal Commissions is that preparation is paramount. And that means having a plan for the future as well. Whether in a written statement or testimony, you need to declare what you are doing going forward – not simply ask for guidance from the Commission.”

Christian says being able to demonstrate lessons learned, how the business has improved standards, particularly with the new National Quality Standards – which organisations need to comply with – will all need to be done to prevent criticism from the Commission.

 

Ansvar’s Claims Department Contact Details
1300 650 540
liabilityclaims@ansvar.com.au

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Aged Care

Major Shake-Up in Serious Incident Response for Aged Care Sector

NEWS RELEASE

Aged Care serious incident reporting to change: Roles and implications for Insurance and Risk

 

A Federal Government commissioned report by KPMG has recommended wide-ranging changes to improve serious incident responses in the aged care sector.

The KPMG report recommends broader definitions of reportable conduct by staff to residents including physical, sexual or financial abuse, and seriously inappropriate, improper, inhumane or cruel treatment and neglect.

Continue reading “Major Shake-Up in Serious Incident Response for Aged Care Sector”
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Aged Care

Hearing 1 of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety

NEWS RELEASE
Hearing 1 Weeks of February 11 and 18

 

Ansvar Risk’s Senior Risk Consultant Anthony Black summarises the hearing so far:

“The overriding objective of this first two weeks was to obtain perspectives on the aged care system as it currently exists”, Anthony reports.

Specifically, Hearing 1 inquired into:
a) the concerns of advocacy bodies relating to the current state of the aged care system
b) the clinical issues affecting elderly people and general challenges that arise in meeting clinical needs
c) the concerns and view of medical and nursing professional bodies relating to the current state of the aged care system
d) demographic information relating to the provision of aged care services
e) the perspectives of government and regulators as to the state of the aged care system
f) the perspectives of workforce representative bodies as to the state of the aged care system
g) experiences of people receiving services in the aged care system or their family members

Giving Evidence
Witnesses included:
– The Sprigg Family, whose relative died at the Oakden Facility, sparking a parliamentary enquiry;
– Representatives of aged care bodies;
– Health professional representative bodies;
– Associations for specialist needs and care (such as dementia);
– Secretary of the Commonwealth Department of Health Glenys Beauchamp;
– New Aged Care Quality and Safety Commissioner Janet Anderson

 

Poor provider response
Only 900 of the approximate 2000 providers responded to the Commission’s invitation to Providers to submit responses to specific questions regarding substandard care in their organisations and to obtain views on quality improvements. Of the top 100 funded providers, 79 submitted.

“I am surprised by the low submission rate; not submitting could draw attention to providers, particularly large providers. It’s also important to note that the Commission does not propose to publish the information provided, though it may publish aggregated data,” Anthony notes.

 

Key themes emerged:
1) Funding – The system of funding received significant criticism. The relative value of the Aged Care Funding Instrument (ACFI) was debated rigorously and points were raised regarding processes and techniques employed by Providers to “maximise the ACFI”; suggesting the funding approach was not in fact supporting a true understanding of the cost of care. The financial sustainability of providers was also a key topic, with evidence that almost half of providers recorded a deficit budget at last financial year. Liquidity strain is also a strong feature and rising risk.

2) Abuse and Safe Care – Evidence from the Department showed over 3,700 assaults reported last financial year. A reportable assault is where there’s an allegation or suspicions of what is generally known as an assault — physical, mental assaults on either residents or staff. It heard a report that was commissioned by the department after the Oakden scandal recommended that the obligation to report assaults be broadened by introducing a “serious incident response scheme”. This is currently not in place and reporting of assaults is highly dependent on individual providers’ reporting culture and actions or through independent audits. Discussions will continue on this topic, with extensive interest in the overuse of physical and chemical restraints to also feature strongly. Physical restraints include binding a resident to a bed or chair, so they cannot move, while chemical restraints include the use of psychotropic medication such as sedatives. The commission was told that about 80 per cent of older Australians in residential care with dementia were on at least one psychotropic drug

3) Staffing – Several witnesses relayed experiences of broad ranging workforce issues; unqualified staff, low staff numbers, poor access to specialist care advice, poor access to GPs and wide variation in GP aged care skill sets, lack of standardised training and continued discussion on rations. Much more to come in this space.

4) Dementia – This is and will remain a key element of this Royal Commission in terms of its prevalence, its management and the system’s response to this significant health issue. The Commissioners took evidence from a number of key sources on dementia to gather insights to further prosecute the handling of dementia care, resourcing, training and societal attitude.

“I have no doubt these 4 themes will thread throughout the remaining Commission hearings and form substantial components of the end delivery recommendations,” Anthony says.

 

Future Hearings in 2019
The Royal Commission will conduct hearings in all capital cities and a number of regional locations. The Commission anticipates hearings will take place in the weeks commencing:
18 March, 6 May, 13 May, 17 June, 24 June, 8 July, 15 July, 29 July, 5 August, 9 September, 8 October, 14 October, 4 November, 11 November and 9 December 2019.
The location of each hearing will be announced progressively as arrangements are finalised.

Future topics include:
– Person Centred Care (complex care, mental health, nutrition, choice, end of life care, family inclusion)
– Loneliness and Respect
– Quality and Safety systems and Regulatory Framework
– Access and Navigation (including accommodation bonds, transitions between care types, service interfaces, home care)
– Remote and Regional Care (demographics, workforce, sustainability)

 

Royal Commission to hold first community forums
In addition to submissions and hearings, the Commission will undertake a series of community forums, round table meetings with experts, and site visits.
Community forums will be held metropolitan and regional locations.

The first community forums will be held in
– Bankstown in Sydney on Friday 1 March 2019 and
– Bendigo in Victoria on Tuesday 5 March 2019
Commissioner Lynelle Briggs AO will be present at both.

________________________________________________________________________________________

Providers – what you need to know

Governance Issues in Aged Care – Risk and Insurance considerations.

Anthony Black says: “My work with the sector, broker networks and directly with Board Directors, CEOs and Senior Management over the last 6 months, has highlighted specific governance and risk management issues that should be front of mind for our teams working and supporting this industry:

1) Board Director skill sets need review; capabilities of Directors for governing for vulnerable people are highly variable and leading to governance exposures to meet community expectations and the new Aged Care Standards requirements.

2) Clinical Governance needs an overhaul in Aged Care; the framework, systems and provision of coordinated care for complex and specialist needs have not kept pace with the changing context and profile of aged care recipients.

3) Dignity of Risk (how organisations support individuals’ independence and self-determination, including taking risks) needs greater focus by Boards and Executives, not assumed to be adequately managed by staff. This is a complex cultural shift required by new standards and driven through heightened expectations of consumers that risk is balanced between their rights, needs and desires and the organisation’s responsibilities.

4) Liquidity management strategies require greater oversight and assessment; they may be providing a false sense of financial security

5) Uncertainty regarding the TOR (Terms of Reference) for a Royal Commission related to Disability in Australia and its relationship to provision of services to older people, adds an additional layer of complexity for the sector.

6) Governance and Risk Frameworks are NOT keeping pace with change; many organisations have not reviewed frameworks or assessed their maturity despite enormous changes in sector and organisational contexts.

________________________________________________________________________________________

These are challenging times. Hope is not a strategy. Good frameworks for good governance are more important than ever for our customers.

The Ansvar Risk Consultants are here to help – we understand the sector, and we have a range of resources and tools to assist you in preparing for the Royal Commission.

Please contact us to discuss reviewing and strengthening your risk management
Anthony Black
0402 239 149
ablack@ansvarrisk.com.au

 

 

 

Disclaimer: Ansvar Insurance Limited ABN 21 007 216 506, AFSL 237806. This information is general advice only and does not take into account your individual circumstances.  Before making any decisions, please consider the appropriateness of this advice to your own objectives, financial situation or other needs.

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Aged Care

Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety gets Underway

NEWS RELEASE
Hearings commence 11 February 2019

 

Anthony Black, Senior Risk Consultant, Ansvar Risk returned from a preliminary hearing in Adelaide to give Ansvar clients this exclusive preview:

1) More than 5,000 submissions will form part of the evidence
2) Last count, 84 Aged Care providers had submitted responses
3) Commissioner Lynelle Briggs noted: “It is our hope providers will assist whenever called for information and contributions. No response brings attention to providers and their practices”
4) Employers are warned that they should not prevent employees participating in anyway with the Royal Commission. Deterrence many lead to an offence

Commissioners regard the Royal Commission as a “Once in a lifetime opportunity to come together as a Nation to review how we care for older people”.

The Royal Commissioners: Richard Tracey QC and Lynelle Briggs AO
Report Timeframes Confirmed: 31/10/19 (interim) 30/04/20 (final)

“A rising torrent of concerns”
While thousands contribute to excellent care every day, the Commissioners noted rising concerns regarding failings of care and a system that is no longer fit for purpose. It is the Commissioners’ intentions to “give voice to those who have experiences to share”.

The Royal Commission will use its powers to examine the progress and effectiveness of the new Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission throughout its first year in operation.

First Hearings
The first public hearing will commence week February 11, in Adelaide.
The Royal Commission has determined hearings will have the following themes:

1) Overview of the System (including young people in residential care, access and inclusion and dementia care)
2) Person Centred Care (complex care, mental health, nutrition, choice, end of life care, family inclusion)
3) Loneliness and Respect
4) Quality and Safety systems and Regulatory Framework
5) Access and Navigation (including accommodation bonds, transitions between care types, service interfaces, home care)
6) Remote and Regional Care (demographics, workforce, sustainability)

All public documents, practice guidelines for hearings and other information is available on the Royal Commission website: https://agedcare.royalcommission.gov.au/Pages/default.aspx

Providers can be called to give evidence
Providers may be called before the Royal Commission to provide evidence at the direction of the Commissioners or by Special Counsel Assisting. For the first time in a Royal Commission in Australia, the Commissioners also have power to obtain statements in writing. Particular themes will guide hearings. Public Hearings will take place in each State as well as some regional centres.

The Royal Commission will also hold roundtables, conduct surveys, visit services, meet with advocates and consumers, meet key Departments and conduct Community Consultations.

More than 5,000 Submissions 
The Royal Commission has received more than 5000 submissions from the public regarding experiences relating to the aged care sector. Since then, the Royal Commission invited Aged Care Providers to submit information based on 8 questions by January 7 (top 100 providers) and by February 8 (remaining providers). To date, 84 providers have submitted responses.

What has been learnt from submissions?
Aged Care Providers have submitted the following as key themes of “substandard care”:

1) Elder Abuse
2) Medication management
3) Psychotropic drug use
4) Food safety
5) Not responding to residents calls for care in reasonable time frames
6) Inadequate wound management, leading to death
7) Record keeping and management

Public submissions reveal two major themes:

– Unsafe care practices
– Inadequate staffing numbers and inadequately qualified staff

Commissioner Briggs advised that information provided by Providers will not be individually identified in public; however aggregated data will be produced. Further, the information provided by Providers will be compared to that held by the Regulator for comparison and further inquiry.

Administration and work of the Royal Commission is already in train

– Adelaide based and all Senior Counsels Assisting appointed
– Policy and research framework established to guide recommendations
– Commissioners have made clear that “short response times” will be the norm of the proceedings of the Royal Commission
– Engagement has already commenced with advocacy groups, policy advisors, Australian Bureau of Statistics and research groups

 

Ansvar can offer support to your organisation:
The Ansvar Risk team are experts – we understand the sector, and we have a range of resources and tools to assist you in preparing for the Royal Commission.

Please contact us to discuss reviewing and strengthening your risk management
Anthony Black
0402 239 149
ablack@ansvarrisk.com.au

 

 

 

Disclaimer: Ansvar Insurance Limited ABN 21 007 216 506, AFSL 237806. This information is general advice only and does not take into account your individual circumstances.  Before making any decisions, please consider the appropriateness of this advice to your own objectives, financial situation or other needs.

Categories
Aged Care

Aged Care Providers – Ansvar can help you with the Royal Commission

As proceedings commence with the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, Approved Providers need to immediately assess what this means for their organisation’s Governance, Risk Management and Insurance.

Ansvar can assist you by:
– Helping you to assess your corporate and clinical governance,
– Helping review and strengthen your risk management, and
– Engaging with your broker around your policy and claims matters including sharing information sourced from our experienced partner networks and our Aged Care Strategy.

Ansvar Risk Senior Risk Consultant Anthony Black (pictured) has this advice:
 “We will ask the questions first – before the Royal Commission asks you!”

Anthony says it is crucial that Boards and Executives review the effectiveness of their Risk Management Framework to strengthen governance.
“You need to ask:
– Do you have a current strategic plan that outlines the direction and objectives of the organisation, including specific reference to resident safety and wellbeing?
– Has the risk management framework and the risk maturity of your organisation been reviewed in the last 12 months and an improvement plan in place?
– Is there a strong enough focus on strategic risks and does Board have line of sight to risks that they must know about?
– Do you have a plan to improve risk communication that involves staff involvement and practical tools and resources?

“We know that the more mature an organisation’s risk framework the more likely it is to make sound decisions, prevent harm, achieve objectives and become more resilient.”

The major risks confronting Aged Care Providers
Anthony recommends that, as a minimum, Approved Providers should have formally assessed risks against their organisational objectives in the following areas:
– Governance and Culture
– Resident Safety
– Workforce
– Financial Sustainability

The Aged Sector is already under pressure.
The announcement of the Royal Commission comes at a time when there is already significant complexity in the sector:
– Establishment of the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission to centralise accreditation, compliance and complaints handling
– Transition to new Single Aged Care Quality Framework and Standards
– Increasing care requirements and workforce capability gaps.
– Significant pressures on financial performance and sustainability.

Navigating uncertainty and making sound decisions in this context relies on effective governance. 
The Board is ultimately responsible for corporate and clinical governance and must review its capabilities and capacities to respond to its roles and obligations. Central to this should be specific consideration to the effectiveness and maturity of its risk management framework.

 

Ansvar can offer support to your organisation:

The Ansvar risk team are experts – we understand the sector, and we have a range of resources and tools to assist you in preparing for the Royal Commission.

In the coming weeks there will be more specific communications about our strategy and timeframes

Anthony Black
0402 239 149
ablack@ansvarrisk.com.au