Single Aged Care Quality Framework - Draft Aged Care Quality Standards

SMCS strongly believes that to achieve the stated consumer outcomes and to ensure that consumers are treated with dignity and respect and are supported to maintain their identity it is fundamental that issues around language and communication barriers experienced by people from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Communities (CALD) are addressed and resourced. Effective communication is essential to the physical, emotional and the overall wellbeing of our clients. Consumers dignity, respect and the quality of care provision can be significantly compromised when language/communication needs of consumers are not addressed. Encouraging and facilitating the use of consumers preferred language enables participation, reduces social isolation and creates a sense of belonging. Organisations must be provided with resources/access to free interpreting and translating services to ensure they are compliant with the Standards and that they are able to truly partner with consumers to clearly identify consumers needs and preferences to drive the provision of care. Only than CALD consumers will be able to fully participate and not be disadvantaged in achieving the stated consumer outcomes.

Resources and access to free interpreting and translating services must be made available to organisations when providing care to people form CLAD backgrounds. These resources should especially made available for:
Assessments/reassessments and care planning and development.
Whenever informed consent is required.
Providing and receiving information re: feedback and complaints.
Providing information specific to the organisation.

It can be difficult to accurately measure some of the consumer outcomes especially around dignity, respect and identity. The stated consumer outcomes look very good on paper but in reality can be difficult to achieve for clients with language and literacy issues. To achieve for example Consumer outcomes in Standard 1, 2 and 6 a consumer must be well informed and have to capacity to make informed choices about their care needs and that without appropriate resources can be difficult to achieve.

To achieve this standard, accurate and appropriate communication between workers and consumers will be crucial at all times. Organisations delivering services to people from CALD backgrounds must be appropriately resources to facilitate this communication and support consumers full participation. All vulnerable older people must be treated equally and have to same opportunities for participation. The complexity of delivering services to people from CALD backgrounds must be recognised and appropriately resourced.

To achieve this outcome consumers and/or organisations must have access to free interpreting and translating services - only than consumers from CALD backgrounds will truly be able to act independently, exercise their own choices and preferences and be a partner in their ongoing assessment and care planning.

Consumers and organisations must have access to free interpreting and translating services to full exercise their right to provide feedback and/or lodge a complaint.

Our concerned is that without appropriately resourcing consumers and organisations especially around communication and language issues these standards and the consumer outcomes will not be achievable for some members of our community and put organisations delivering services to people from CALD communities in a disadvantaged position.