Catholic Healthcare remains dedicated to ensuring high standards of care for our residents, clients, and employees. We appreciate the insights and contributions of our QCAB members, whose role is essential in enhancing the quality of our care services.
We are pleased to present the CHL Board's official response to the QCAB recommendations regarding home care services and residential aged care, following the Board's request for additional time to consider these recommendations.
We thank QCAB for its continued support and commitment to improving the homes for our residents and their loved ones.
Catholic Healthcare Board acknowledges QCAB's Residential Aged Care recommendations
Feedback and recommendations from QCAB were presented to the CHL Board and discussed at a meeting in December 2024. Due to the depth and breadth of the recommendations, the CHL Board requested more time and reconvened in February 2025. The CHL Board addressed feedback on improvements in medication processes, an updated hotel services guide, and the gaps in the clinical management system, as well as comments on the proposed case management model and the new Model of Care. The CHL Board remains committed to implementing these improvements and welcomes ongoing feedback to ensure continued progress.
The CHL Board noted three key themes from the recommendations (13 in all), as follows:
- Enhance the dining experience: make seasonal produce and nutritious food available, consider hiring an in-house dietitian, and aim for a ‘generally positive’ environment
- Enhance volunteer recruitment: offer companionship, foster connections, and improve overall wellbeing
- Medication: continue implementing the recommendations from the ‘Deep Dive’. We have attached a summary of your recommendations and our next steps.
Please see here for a more detailed look at the recommendations from QCAB on Residential Aged Care.
Catholic Healthcare Board acknowledges QCAB's Home and Community Care recommendations
Feedback and recommendations from QCAB were presented to the CHL Board and discussed at our December 2024 meeting. Given the depth and breadth of the report, the Board requested additional time to consider the recommendations and reconvened in February 2025 fully.
Your feedback on improvements implemented since the June report is greatly appreciated.
These included:
- New features in the Catholic Healthcare App, including care plans and financial statements
- A new communication system to provide timely updates about services and appointments
- Improved processes and assessment in pain management
- Review of Catholic Healthcare’s FAQs and brochures on fees
- Improvements in our Incident Management and Complaints Handling, which went live in December 2024.
The Board noted four key themes from the recommendations (12 in all), as follows:
- Supporting clients to know who their Catholic Healthcare contact person is
- Assisting clients in easily accessing information on all our service offerings
- Providing information on different funding options and explaining acronyms
- Developing a recruitment video for QCAB to encourage clients and employees to contribute to this forum. We have attached a summary of your recommendations and our next steps.
The Board appreciates the valuable advice provided by QCAB to improve services for residents and clients. The Chief Quality Officer, serving as Chair of the QCAB, will continue to provide updates on progress and support collaboration to enhance the lives of residents.