Whether you’re moving out of one of the best-rated retirement villages in Brisbane or leaving the family home, it’s important to know what makes a good aged care home. Choosing the right aged care home for yourself or a loved one is one of the most important decisions you’ll make. It’s also one of the hardest. With so many factors to consider, from nursing home fee structures and room types, to patient-nurse ratios, it can be difficult to know what to look for in a nursing home.
In this guide, we share our expert advice on what makes a good nursing home, including how to ensure quality of care in aged care, and 10 questions to ask about aged care to give you peace of mind that you’ve found the right aged care home.
What makes a good aged care home?
When it comes to what makes a good nursing home, quality of care should be top of mind. But exactly what is the quality of care in aged care?
The Australian Government broadly defines high-quality care as person-centred care — “high quality care is about listening to people, understanding them as individuals and delivering care in line with their needs and preferences. It’s about hearing and responding to feedback from the people receiving care, to ensure the best possible quality of life.”
How to ensure quality of care in aged care
To help define what makes a good aged care home, the Australian Government has developed eight Aged Care Quality Standards. The eight standards of aged care are:
- Consumer dignity and choice
- Ongoing assessment and planning
- Personal care and clinical care
- Services and support for daily living
- Organisation’s service environment
- Feedback and complaints
- Human resources
- Organisational governance
Every government-funded aged care provider is assessed against these standards. When it comes to what to look for in a nursing home, start by checking the home’s performance against the eight standards. You can do this by searching for the nursing home on the Australian Government’s Find a Provider page. For more information on the standards, and how to read them to know what makes a good aged care home, visit our in-depth guide to the eight standards of aged care.
10 questions to ask about aged care
Checking a nursing home’s scores against the eight Aged Care Quality Standards is the first step to understanding what makes a good aged care home. But there are a range of other, more detailed questions to add to your ‘what to look for in a nursing home checklist’.
Here we cover 10 questions to ask about aged care, based on the New South Wales Nursing and Midwifery Association’s ‘10 Questions to Ask’ pamphlets, to help you decide how to choose a good nursing home.
1. What are my accommodation and service fees?
Aged care home fee structures are often confusing. They’ll usually be a combination of accommodation and basic daily fees, but how much you pay often depends on your income and assets. Important questions to ask about fees include:
- How much is the basic daily care fee and what does it cover?
- What are additional services and do I have to pay for them even if I don’t need them?
- What if I can’t afford to pay?
2. What room can I have?
High-quality nursing homes have a range of accommodation options to suit individuals’ preferences and care needs, including single rooms, couples rooms, and shared rooms. Always ask what type of room is available, what’s included in the room, and whether there’s a waitlist to access your preferred room.
3. What support will the home provide to meet my daily living needs?
Different aged care homes provide different levels of support to help with daily activities such as meals and getting around. Some aged care homes allow residents to run to their own schedule, while others have set meal and bedtimes.
4. How will you help me to feel at home?
High quality aged care homes feel safe, comfortable and welcoming. Good questions to ask to include:
- What shared areas does the home have? When can I access these?
- What social and recreational activities are available? Are there fun activities for seniors in the nursing home?
- What food options are available?
- Can I have visitors at any time?
5. What level of staffing does the home have?
Adequate staffing levels are essential when it comes to how to ensure quality in aged care. Helpful questions to ask to ensure you’ll receive high quality care include:
- How many nurses are on each shift?
- What is the staff to resident ratio for each shift?
- What minimum training do Assistants in Nursing (AIN) and care staff have?
6. Does the home have on-site General Practitioners (GPs)?
Some aged care homes employ their own GP, but not all do. Make sure to ask if the home employs a GP, what hours they are available between, and whether the home can support you to continue seeing your own GP.
7. How will the home accommodate my cultural needs?
Some helpful questions to understand how welcoming the home is include:
- Are there any staff who speak my language?
- Are cultural food choices catered for?
- Can the home accommodate my religious practices?
8. What protocols are in place to stop COVID-19 spreading?
Knowing how an aged care home manages COVID-19 outbreaks is important. Questions to ask include:
- How do they minimise the risk of COVID-19?
- What support is available if I have to isolate?
- What happens if I become unwell?
9. Can the aged care home meet my care needs if I have dementia?
Most aged care homes accommodate people with dementia. Helpful questions include:
- What dementia-specific training do staff have?
- How will I be supported to participate in activities I like?
- What changes have been made to make the home dementia friendly?
10. How would the home manage my palliative care needs?
Many aged care homes provide end-of-life care. Helpful questions to ask include:
- How do you assess palliative care needs?
- What palliative care support is provided at the home and are there specialist palliative care supports?
- How will you ensure my cultural and spiritual needs are met?
If you’ve recently moved a loved one into a nursing home and need help with property matters, contact our friendly team of professionals today.
References:
- Australian Government ‘Aged Care Quality Standards’, Australian Government myagedcare website, accessed 2 August 2024
- New South Wales Nurses and Midwives’ Association (2024) ‘10 Questions to Ask’, 10 Questions to Ask website, accessed 2 August 2024