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Cobar’s aged care facility continues to meet guidelines With aged care facilities around the state are now able to use those extra bed licenses “It makes it more cost efficient,” he said. in danger of closing (three closed in Sydney we were granted. “We are not even contemplating closing it last week), some forward planning and a “And for us that’s really important because down, we are not contemplating selling it. lot of hard work by the Lilliane Brady Vil- we can start to breathe a little bit financially at “We’re trying to make it more efficient and lage Management and Governance Com- 40 rather than the old bench mark of 33 that that will probably be through a structural mittee, will ensure Cobar’s aged care facili- we had for so long. change,” Mr Miller said. ty remains open. All government-funded aged care providers are required to comply with Aged Care Quality Standards and many facilities are currently struggling to adhere to those standards. The standards reflect the level of care and services the community expects from aged care providers. As part of those standards, from this July all approved aged care providers must have at least one Registered Nurse (RN) on-site and on duty 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety carried out in 2018/2019 identified that staffing levels were critical to the quality of residential care, and recommended at least one RN be on-site at all times at each residential facility. The commission determined having a 24/7 RN reduces the risk of resident harm by ensuring qualified and experienced care staff are always available to identify and address potential risks. The Cobar Shire Council-owned LBV aged care facility has struggled for some time to recruit permanent staff, in particular RN’s, however the use of agency staff has ensured the LBV remains compliant with the standards. Council’s director of finance and community services, Kym Miller said the committee Forward planning and good management practices have ensured the Lilliane Brady raised concerns towards the end of last year Village remains open and operational. that there were only two RNs on staff. Mr Miller said the committee has worked in conjunction with council to increase that number now to five RNs, some of whom are permanent while the others are agency staff. “Some are here for longer terms than others,” Mr Miller said. “There’s such a shortage of RN’s in the country that there’s going to be exemptions to the guidelines, but we have been able to meet Marking the 50th Anniversary of the war in Vietnam them. and the 100th anniversary of Legacy “We are getting close to 40 residents and
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