Navigating change through collaboration

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ANNUAL REPORT 20202021

Navigating change through collaboration

Following the aged-care royal commission, sector support workers have been busy responding to the proposed reforms. CHSP Sector Support and Development Officer Tim Horton reports.

Older Australians receiving tech training

The Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP) has been publicly acknowledged as the most successful agedcare program, both in terms of cost effectiveness and consumer satisfaction. Yet — following the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, and the Government’s Budget response — it is the one aged-care program that is earmarked for fundamental change. As the long-awaited release of the Government’s review into the subprogram in May 2021 made clear, the changes will particularly impact the role of Sector Support and Development (SSD). As the CHSP Sector Support and Development Officer (SSDO), the review’s recommendations served to confirm that I continue to focus on maximising the strength of CHSP and its network of providers through 2020-21.

During the year, the SSDO worked through the CHSP Forum to help its membership of about 50 providers navigate the post-royal commission changes. Of most impact, the SSDO presented two online sessions led by Director of the Australian Health Services Research Institute, Professor Kathy Eagar, whose extensive experience has included providing expert testimony to the aged-

care royal commission. The second session attracted almost 200 participants and provided the impetus for a group of CHSP peak bodies to advance a sector-led response to the Government’s proposed reforms.

On behalf of the forum, the SSDO wrote a letter to MPs — including the Minister for Senior Australians and Aged-Care Services — voicing concerns over the post-royal commission changes, such as the move to payment in arrears, and the tenor of reforms that appear to shift the program towards a market focus.

Meanwhile, groundwork laid in 2019-20 bore fruit, with the convening of the Eastern Sydney Digital Inclusion Working Group. The group was formed to address the growing digital divide between vulnerable residents of Eastern Sydney and other members of the community. A Digital Inclusion Showcase was held in November 2020 to highlight innovative digital practice amongst Eastern Sydney providers. The group also secured $15,000 total funding for a digital affordability project. This project will provide training to vulnerable residents and their support workers in understanding how to get the most value out of data plans and digital devices, and to provide data plans to the most vulnerable. It is expected about 100 people will benefit from the training, and another 50 from the data plans.

In March 2021, the City of Sydney and Eastern Sydney Abuse of Older People Collaborative completed its first awareness-raising initiative through a series of promotional videos. The filming was carried out — pro bono — by Fiona Tait from Relationships Australia (a member of the collaborative). As well as the videos, the collaborative also presented a webinar featuring local experts in the field, which attracted approximately 35 participants.

In collaboration with other NSW SSD projects, organisation of the Let It Shine! 2021 CHSP Conference progressed: the online platform provider has been locked in, and invitations sent to a range of dignitaries (most of whom, since the end of 2020-21, have accepted). They include Dr Kay Patterson, Age Discrimination Commissioner; Janet Anderson, Aged-Care Quality and Safety Commissioner; Robert Fitzgerald, NSW Ageing and Disability Commissioner; and Nick Hartland, First Assistant Secretary in the Department of Health, with responsibility for CHSP). The conference committee is expecting 400 registrants.

Collaboration remains the key to achieving outcomes for the SSDO role. One such collaboration includes the Community Aged-Care Forum and the Aged-Care Industry Information Technology Council. Working together, the aim is to represent the workforce needs of CHSP in relation to the aged-care reforms. Another partnership draws on feedback from and connections with the public housing neighbourhood advisory boards to target broader initiatives such as the digital affordability project.

By supporting collaboration and sharing information, significant work went into updating the Eastern Sydney CHSP services brochure, which continues to be the key single source of information detailing services available in the area. Plans are afoot to make the brochure available online in a searchable

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ISV

ANNUAL REPORT 20202021