Farewell Svetlana
Svetlana Polianskaia has been Residential Manager at our Brighton Aged Care Home for just short of 15 years, keeping the ‘ship afloat’ during the challenges of COVID. In the last couple of years, she and Jane Jones have been job-sharing the role, but the time has now come for her to move onto the next chapter of her life.
Thank you to Svetlana for your loyalty and service to our community and very best wishes for your future endeavours from everyone at Vasey RSL Care.
Coffee Shop Back in Business
We are very happy to report that thanks to a new volunteer, Greg, we have been able to reopen our Coffee Shop at Vasey RSL Care Brighton East.
Opening on Mondays and Thursdays from 10am to 2pm, drop by for a great coffee!
Virtual Reality Brings New Lease of Life
Have you experienced Virtual Reality? Resident Ken at Vasey RSL Care Brighton gave it a go and is now hooked on virtual travel.
He has been experiencing trips around the world – two per day – and seeing corners of the globe he never imagined he’d reach. Sometimes he takes other residents with him on his virtual travels.
Filling in one of our Have Your Say forms, Ken told us:
“I love, love the virtual travel. It’s so good and I love it. I’m keeping a record of all the places I have been to. Thanks so much”.
Enhanced Hearing System
At Vasey RSL Care Frankston South, in response to residents requests for an improved speaker system and acoustics in the Recreation Room, hearing loop technology has been installed. This assists hearing impaired residents to clearly hear and understand what is being said in communal activities.
The system includes a speaker, microphones and neckloop receivers and connects the speaker system directly into the residents’ hearing aids. Residents hang the neckloop receivers around their necks and switch their hearing aids to telecoil mode. The system transmits an audio signal using a magnetic wireless technology that is picked up by the hearing aid.
“I’m pleased we’ve been able to respond to residents’ needs and help improve their quality of life and participation in group events,” says Frankston South Residential Manager, Brian Searle.
Knit4Charities Donations
We would like to thank the knitters and crocheters from the Knit4Charities group for providing all our aged care homes with beautifully hand-crafted rugs, shawls and bed jackets. Thank you to Frankston South ESA resident Jan for coordinating this program (in blue below with Brighton East Residential Manager Carol Hamilton and residents with some of the donations) and to Knit4Charities Peninsula Coordinator Janine.
Help Promote Positive Change in Aged Care
Ensuring all residents in our community can provide input into their care and services leads to better experiences and improvements that benefit all: would you like to be part of this important process?
The Australian Government’s Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission (ACQSC) is a federal government body that protects and improves the safety, health, wellbeing and quality of life for people receiving aged care services.
All age care providers are required to set up two types of Advisory Bodies: Consumer Advisory Bodies and Quality Care Advisory Bodies.
Consumer Advisory Bodies
A Consumer Advisory Body collects feedback from members and shares it with the provider: the provider must consider all feedback when making decisions and must report back to the Consumer Advisory Body on how the feedback was considered.
Joining a Consumer Advisory Body means you can share your concerns and ideas with those in charge of your (or your loved one’s) care.
We have a Consumer Advisory Body at each of our four Aged Care Homes. Feedback from these goes directly to our Board of Directors, giving residents an unimpeded voice to our governing body.
The Consumer Advisory Bodies build on our multiple feedback channels, such as regular Residents Meetings, Consumer Engagement Forums, annual resident surveys and our ‘Have Your Say’ system.
Quality Care Advisory Bodies
A Quality Care Advisory Body must report in writing at least every six months to the provider’s governing body (the Board) about the quality of care provided.
The role of members of this body is to focus on macro issues and trends (rather than individual issues or feedback) and opportunities for improvement.
The Quality Care Advisory Body must have a minimum of three members and must include one who is key personnel with appropriate aged care experience, one who is directly involved in the provision of aged care and one who represents the interests of care recipients – this can be a resident, a member of the Consumer Advisory Body or a consumer advocate.
Your Voice Matters!
We are calling for new members of our Consumer Advisory Bodies and Quality Care Advisory Body.
Are you a resident or a family member who would like to be part of a Consumer Advisory Body? Do you feel you could help identify problems and improve care?
If so, we would love to hear from you. Please contact the relevant RM or General Manager.
Reminder: Food Services Feedback
Our food services provider, Medirest, offers a simple way for residents and family members to provide feedback on residential aged care food services.
The system is available in dining rooms where Medirest staff can assist. Alternatively, click here to access the system.
All feedback is collated and reports are sent to the Residential Managers every month.
If a complaint is received via the system, the Medirest team is alerted and will look into the situation and provide a response.
End-of-Life Directions in Aged Care
Staff from Vasey RSL Care Frankston South were selected to present their End-of-Life care improvement program to 150 other participating organisations at the End-of-Life Directions in Aged Care (ELDAC) Linkages Program Showcase in Canberra on 7 June.
The ELDAC Linkages Program is a facilitated palliative care and advance care planning initiative that aims to improve the quality of end-of-life care for all older Australians in aged care.
Vasey RSL Care has been working on this project for the past six months led by Clinical Quality Manager, Lisa O’Driscoll and staff members Shelly Nayyar, Hardeep Kaur and Sofia Ali.
“We are delighted that our Frankston South team has been selected to present their work at the Showcase event”, said General Manager Residential Services, Corinne Lyon.
“The Showcase is an opportunity for the team to share their experience and success in improving palliative care for residents with participating aged care services and key sector representatives from across Australia.”