The Catholic Healthcare Board would like to thank the Residential Care Consumer Advisory Body (CAB), which reconvened in August this year. The strong engagement and insightful feedback from this session have helped shape and improve the quality of our care, as well as the overall experience for our residents and their families.
Feedback revealed that the quality of care is linked to person-centred, effective, and accessible support. Pleasingly, there was praise for employee compassion and personalised attention, engaging activities, delicious meals, and the responsiveness of feedback systems. Excellence in clinical care, along with the importance of spiritual and pastoral support, was also recognised as essential to wellbeing.
Several key areas were identified for improvement. These included clearer and more regular communication with families, especially through the App; improved employee handover and training, particularly in dementia care; consistent staffing levels; and more personalised care plans.
Creating more welcoming communal spaces, improving access to outdoor areas and outings, and offering greater opportunities for volunteers to connect with residents, especially those who are room-bound, were also common themes. Spiritual care was identified as essential, with suggestions for more visible pastoral carers, accessible chapels, and ongoing employee training in spiritual support.
Key messages conveyed to the Board focused on improving communication, staffing ratios, employee training, and personalised care. The Board is pleased to introduce a range of new initiatives that directly address these issues and demonstrate a commitment to ongoing improvement
1. Person-Centred Care
• Staffing Availability: Weekend concierge staffing will be in place for homes with 80+ rooms by November, providing a new support role for residents and families.
• Improving personalised care: Whenever possible, carers will now be more consistently assigned to a wing or area of their home, to foster stronger relationships and more personalised care.
• Spiritual and Pastoral Care: The Spiritual and Pastoral Care program is being updated to ensure it aligns with national guidelines for spiritual care and the recently introduced Strengthened Quality Standards. This is being introduced through the Inspirit Model of Care.
2. Effective Care
• Enhanced Feedback Channels: By January 2026, there will be new channels for feedback and participation, including a direct link to the feedback and complaints form in the Checked in Care App. This will make it easier for the Authorised Representative to contact Catholic Healthcare.
• Proactive Communication: The Checked in Care App will be updated by January 2026 so that it can be used to give updates about resident health and wellbeing.
3. Accessibility
• Expanded Activities: Activities have been expanded to include outings and gardening options, available immediately.
• Weekend Activities: A consistent weekend calendar of activities will be rolled out across all homes by December 2025.
• Diverse Programs: Programs in art, exercise, food, and playgroup visits are being developed for all homes, with completion expected by December 2025.
• Service Promotion: We have updated our in-room information (compendiums and handbooks) and produced a range of short videos to promote our services and offerings.
The Consumer Advisory Board meetings will reconvene next year, with dates to be announced in the new year. The Board sincerely thanks our members for their valuable advice in collaboration to improve the experiences of Catholic Healthcare residents.