Community and Residential Care
As some older people become frail, they may require more complex healthcare, and this may be provided either in the community or in residential aged care settings. Importantly, older people should be supported in living in whatever setting best suits their needs and desires. Quality of life, safety, security, and maintaining activity and purpose are paramount.
There is a broad range of aged care services available to older adults who require them, and this translates to a wide array of practice options for nurses providing care to older adults. Aged care is a rapidly advancing specialty area, requiring a complex set of technical and generalist nursing skills. Several areas of subspecialisation have also evolved, including aged care administration, older adult mental health, and aged care rehabilitation.
Aged care services in Australia are undergoing significant change. In 1997, the Structural Reform Package fundamentally changed the delivery of aged care services by:
- Introducing accreditation and certification for residential aged care facilities;
- Expanding opportunities for community care and flexible care; and
- Introducing the concept of ageing in place, which allows older people to remain in the same facility as their care needs change over time.
It is important that there is a smooth and integrated continuum of care, so that unnecessary admissions to hospital and premature entries into residential care facilities are avoided.
Thinking challenge
