The delegate's dilemma: ACATre-assessment in hostels

Abstract

The provision for 'ageing in place' in the Aged Care Act of 1997 has provided an opportunity for hostel facilities tobroaden their scope of care for older people. Aged Care Assessment Teams (ACATs) are required to provide assessmentsto give approval for high or low level entry to these facilities, and to provide approval for reclassification from low tohigh care. However, guidelines for ACAT assessments are contradictory with respect to the Resident ClassificationScale (RCS) which provides the facility funding formula, thus creating gatekeeping compared with advocacydifficulties for the ACAT.If the facility can support a claim of high care need for a resident via the RCS but the ACAT (using different andless in-depth criteria) does not agree with that claim, then the care of that resident might be compromised due toinadequate funding. Recommendations made to solve this dilemma include conferring the right of the hostel staff toreclassify residents when necessary, with the responsibility for confirmation of that classification to remain with thetrained validation officers from the Commonwealth Department of Health and Family Services, not the ACAT.