Aged Care GP Panels Initiative

 

Program Contact Person

Glenda O'Halloran

 

Introduction

 

The Aged Care GP Panels Initiative (ACGPPI)  aims to encourage better access to primary medical care for residents of aged care homes, and to enable GPs to work with aged care homes on quality improvement strategies for the care of all residents.

 

The Illawarra results of the 2004 Aged Care Homes Survey indicate that most new residents never have difficulty obtaining GP services (64% of responses) and existing residents sometimes have difficulty obtaining GP services (55% of responses). The main areas of difficulty appear to be routine services (38%) and emergencies at night (25%). Most RACFs have experienced some difficulty obtaining GP input for routine services (73% of responses). However, 71% of RACFs indicated that they were satisfied and 14% were very satisfied with the quality of GP involvement.

 

The role of the Aged Care GP Panel Committee is to identify key areas of concern, implement measures to address concerns raised, and reduce barriers to GP involvement in aged care homes. The Illawarra Division of General Practice collaborated with general practitioners and residential aged care facilities across the Division to discuss areas of need and how best to allocate project funding to address those needs. The Panel decided to focus on two areas of concern.

 

Information Management

One area of concern to be addressed by the GP Panels is information management which encompasses IT use and standardisation of medication charts. This will draw upon the conclusions from the Illawarra Division’s previous Clinical IT in Aged Care Trial, which involved 4 local aged care facilities.

 

Access to Medical Care

The other area of focus is access to medical care. Standardisation of procedures and medication charts within facilities will be long term outcomes of the Initiative. Planned co-operative rosters within facilities aiming at increased utilisation of Medicare Item numbers specific for Aged Care Facilities will improve health outcomes for patients and make GP visits to facilities more time effective. Increasing GP participation in quality committees at facilities will be another central issue, addressing quality improvement and better communication. Another aspect of the initiative includes education topics from local geriatricians to GPs as well as aged care facilities.

 

Residential Aged Care Facilities 

 

Currently, the following aged care facilities are involved in the GP Panels Initiative:

  1. Woonona Nursing Home

  2. Woonona Village Hostel

  3. Wollongong Nursing Home

  4. Five Islands Court

  5. William Beach Gardens

  6. Towradgi Park Nursing Home

  7. St Andrew’s Olunda

  8. Illawarra Multicultural Village

  9. St Mary’s Retirement Village

  10. St Luke’s Village

  11. Coniston Nursing Home

  12. Mt Warrigal Nursing Home

Resources

  1. Working with People with Challenging Behaviours

  2. RACGP Medical care of older persons in residential aged care facilities 2006 (Silver book)

  3. Aged Care General Practitioner Panels Initiative Handbook June 2004

  4. (new version available soon)

  5. CMA Fact Sheets

  6. RMMR Fact Sheet

 

Useful links

  1. Aged Care Australia Website www.agedcareaustralia.gov.au

  2. NSW Health www.health.nsw.gov.au/living/old.html

  3. Department of Health and Ageing www.health.gov.au

  4. Aged Care Services in the Illawarra