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Improving Quality of Life for Older People in Long-Stay Care ...

Improving Quality of Life for Older People in Long-Stay Care ...

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The <strong>in</strong>troduction <strong>of</strong> the RAI entailed a shift <strong>in</strong> focus away from physical facilitiesand features <strong>of</strong> care towards aspects <strong>of</strong> quality <strong>of</strong> life. The RAI is required to <strong>in</strong>cludeobservation and communication with residents as well as communication withstaff. The ma<strong>in</strong> functional assessment <strong>in</strong>strument <strong>in</strong> the RAI is the M<strong>in</strong>imum DataSet <strong>for</strong> Nurs<strong>in</strong>g Home Resident Assessment and <strong>Care</strong> Screen<strong>in</strong>g (MDS) (Hawes,1997). The MDS <strong>for</strong>ms the basis <strong>for</strong> the development <strong>of</strong> quality <strong>in</strong>dicators <strong>for</strong> thefollow<strong>in</strong>g doma<strong>in</strong>s: accidents; behaviour/emotional patterns; cl<strong>in</strong>ical management;cognitive patterns; cont<strong>in</strong>ence nutrition; physical function<strong>in</strong>g; psychotropic druguse; sk<strong>in</strong> care and quality <strong>of</strong> life. These doma<strong>in</strong>s can help to identify facilitiesper<strong>for</strong>m<strong>in</strong>g below the m<strong>in</strong>imum standards and are also used to compare andrank <strong>in</strong>stitutions accord<strong>in</strong>g to their per<strong>for</strong>mance (Mor, 2001).60Re<strong>for</strong>m has also sought to ensure con<strong>for</strong>mity with m<strong>in</strong>imum standards by theimposition <strong>of</strong> sanctions <strong>in</strong> cases <strong>of</strong> non-compliance. For example, the Nurs<strong>in</strong>gHome Re<strong>for</strong>m Act <strong>of</strong> 1987 <strong>in</strong> the USA permits ‘the imposition <strong>of</strong> civil moneypenalties, denial <strong>of</strong> payment <strong>for</strong> new admissions, temporary management,immediate term<strong>in</strong>ation, and other remedies or sanctions’ (OECD, 2005). Australia’sAged <strong>Care</strong> Act <strong>of</strong> 1997 outl<strong>in</strong>es several sanctions that may be en<strong>for</strong>ced <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>grestrict<strong>in</strong>g, revok<strong>in</strong>g or suspend<strong>in</strong>g an <strong>in</strong>stitution’s approval as a provider <strong>of</strong> careservices <strong>for</strong> older people, revok<strong>in</strong>g or suspend<strong>in</strong>g all or some <strong>of</strong> the places alreadyallocated to the care provider or prohibit<strong>in</strong>g the further allocation <strong>of</strong> places, andthe repayment <strong>of</strong> some or any grants paid to the care provider. Legislation hasalso provided mechanisms <strong>for</strong> the <strong>in</strong>creased empowerment <strong>of</strong> nurs<strong>in</strong>g homeresidents. For example, the Aged <strong>Care</strong> Compla<strong>in</strong>ts Resolution Scheme (ACCRS)was established <strong>in</strong> Australia <strong>in</strong> 1997 to deal with compla<strong>in</strong>ts about care servicesfunded by the government. Funds are also provided <strong>for</strong> <strong>in</strong>dependent support and<strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>mation to recipients <strong>of</strong> care services or other <strong>in</strong>terested parties. In the USA theNurs<strong>in</strong>g Home <strong>Quality</strong> Initiative (NHQI) was established <strong>in</strong> 2002 to allow publication<strong>of</strong> <strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>mation about the quality <strong>of</strong> care <strong>in</strong> nurs<strong>in</strong>g homes <strong>in</strong> all fifty states.<strong>Improv<strong>in</strong>g</strong> <strong>Quality</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Life</strong> <strong>for</strong> <strong>Older</strong> <strong>People</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>Long</strong>-<strong>Stay</strong> <strong>Care</strong> Sett<strong>in</strong>gs <strong>in</strong> Ireland

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