The Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety (October 2018 - March 2021) investigated the care of people living in aged care facilities across Australia. The final report included 148 recommendations, one of these recommendations is the use of Behavioural Support Plans (BSP). In September 2021 the use of BSP became a legislative requirement in commonwealth funded aged care residential spaces. In rural areas commonwealth funded beds for aged care use are often located in acute care facilities, adding an additional layer of complexity to the introduction of this important requirement.
This poster presentation provides an overview of the process undertaken to develop and implement policy and procedure and provide education for all levels of staff on BSP in three rural health facilities. The patient safety and quality officer, a Registered Nurse, undertook this work with the support of the Aged Care Standards Committee. The importance of least restrictive practices and the mandatory use of behavioural support plans is new for staff working in the public sector and therefore has required a multipronged approach. Easy staff access to approved BSP templates and training for their use, was essential for consistency and to ensure that this requirement was well understood and applied. The recommendations from this experience include adding education on least restrictive practices and behavioural support plans to requisite training programs for all levels of health service staff working with aged care residents.
This approach is expected to contribute significantly to achieving the essential goal of improving patient safety and care standards in rural North Queensland.