A response to the Royal Commission, perhaps?
New laws announced by the Government this week will require all aged care providers to sign a single (and much improved) Charter of Rights.
And for the first time in Australian aged care law, providers will have to hand over a personally signed copy of the new Charter to every one of their residents and care recipients and must also give them the opportunity to co-sign the document.
The co-signing option was put in place to make sure providers’ commitments and responsibilities to consumers were clear – and that everyone is aware of their rights.
The new Charter replaces four separate previous ones, which all covered various forms of aged care, and includes 14 fundamental protections – from safe and quality care to independence, information, personal privacy, control, fairness and choice for all older Australians.
Now it’s important to note that all residents and home care recipients have always had these rights and protections – but these new reforms are all about making sure that they, and their loved ones, can trust that these important needs will be met by their providers.
The new Charter is written in very clear, concise language and will also be available in a variety of non-English formats.
A simple, easy-to-read guarantee of aged care rights? Sounds like something we’ve been waiting for.
