The Aged Care and Disability Services sectors are facing increased pressure under “a perfect storm” of having to provide quick solutions to major staffing issues while dealing with increasingly rigorous compliance regulations.
Already battling an industry-wide staffing crisis, HR admins in aged care and disability services organisations are wasting time on highly manual compliance monitoring processes, according to Kinatico CEO Michael Ivanchenko.
“Slashing the time spent on manual compliance monitoring means organisations can focus on the overwhelming challenges facing the industry in 2023, and the major one is attracting and retaining the staff required to meet higher minimum staffing ratios to provide better services,” said Ivanchenko.
A recent analysis conducted by the University of Technology Sydney found that Aged Care providers will need to increase total care staffing by around 12.4 percent by October this year if they intend to reach the Federal Government’s ambitious minimum staffing ratios.
“Against this backdrop, there are increasingly more complex issues surrounding stricter compliance, and it’s now more important than ever that organisations in the aged care and disability space find time-saving technological solutions to these ongoing and evolving challenges,” he said.
In 2021, the Royal Commission into Aged Care found "the aged care system is well behind other sectors in the use and application of technology and has no clear information and communications technology strategy".
“Spreadsheets just don’t cut it any more. Organisations still attempting to manage compliance through spreadsheets or a paper-based approach face an impossible task,” said Ivanchenko.
“The biggest problem is human error in data entry, but there are other issues. This also creates standalone systems that do not integrate with each other, no centralised source of data, a lack of transparency, and an inability to automate time-consuming manual processes.
“Switching to an end-to-end digital platform for managing workforce compliance in aged care and disability services produces immediate and long-term benefits.”
These include:
> Meeting regulatory requirements - Aged care and disability services are subject to strict regulatory requirements. Compliance with these regulations is necessary to maintain accreditation and funding. Failure to meet these standards can lead to serious consequences for an organisation, including legal action and reputational damage.
> Reducing operational overheads – instead of needing to hire a team of additional qualified staff to manage time-consuming manual systems, which can be error-prone, it’s possible to develop a “lean team” that can manage compliance simply and securely, freeing them up to secure the best talent.
> Building trust and confidence - Compliance and screening can help to build trust and confidence among clients, families, and the wider community. When organisations demonstrate that they are committed to providing high-quality care and complying with regulations, it can improve their reputation and help to attract new clients.
> Ensuring the safety and well-being of vulnerable individuals - Aged care and disability services cater to some of the most vulnerable members of society. Improving compliance and screening helps ensure that these individuals receive high-quality care and protection from neglect, abuse, and exploitation.
> Improving the quality of care - Compliance and screening can help to identify areas of weakness in an organisation's care provision, enabling them to take steps to improve the quality of care they provide. This can lead to better outcomes for residents and clients, including improved health and well-being.
Among the new compliance regulations in the care sectors, The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission released a draft guidance document in March outlining a series of new responsibilities for approved providers concerning their governance arrangements.
The Aged Care Act has been amended to introduce specific provider responsibilities in relation to governance arrangements. In the HR space, this includes ensuring the governing body has responsibility and direct oversight of staff qualifications, skills and capability development.
In the disability services sector, all states and territories have agreed to implement nationally consistent NDIS worker screening. The NDIS Worker Screening Check is an assessment of whether a person who works or seeks to work with people with a disability poses a risk to them.
“This means that organisations need to constantly assess, monitor and review their workforce through an effective human resources system, including compliance management.”
Kinatico has developed a reputation as a leading provider of ‘know your people’ tech solutions. Kinatico provides real-time workforce compliance management via its core software-as-a-service RegTech
By combining certifications and compliance data with business policy and legislative requirements, Cited enables scalable compliance monitoring spanning pre-employment to daily requirements related to geo-location, roles and tasks applicable across a wide range of industries – both domestically and internationally.
