Education and Training

The Older Persons Advocacy Network has produced a video - Medication: It’s your choice, to give consumers an overview of the potential side effects of some medications and their right to make informed decisions about what medications they take.

On Thursday 6 August, the Commission held a webinar for NSW/QLD-based providers of residential aged care services to share insights from the Commission’s work in monitoring and supporting services to prepare for and respond to an outbreak.

To support the aged care sector during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Commission is developing a range of new storyboards that are designed to illustrate key behaviours and priority issues.

Six steps for safe prescribing antipsychotics and benzodiazepines in residential aged care.

If you’re thinking of prescribing these medicines to manage the behaviours and psychological symptoms of dementia, follow these 6 steps.

What are psychotropic medications? 

Psychotropic medications are ‘any drug capable of affecting the mind, emotions and behaviour'

The three main classes of psychotropics prescribed are antidepressants, anxiolytic/hypnotics (mostly benzodiazepines to manage anxiety and insomnia) and antipsychotics. Other psychotropic classes include anticonvulsants and stimulants. 

An activity to raise awareness of the importance of identity culture and diversity

RB 2019-08 This Regulatory Bulletin outlines the requirements that must be met before and during the use of restraint. It outlines how the Commission will assess the use of restraint in the context of the Aged Care Quality Standards and the Quality of Care Principles 2014.

This booklet provides an evidence-based approach to complaint handling in a plain English, easy-to-understand format. It highlights the role of communication in effective complaint handling and the benefits of resolving complaints within a service.

Open disclosure is the open discussion that an aged care provider has with people receiving aged care services when something goes wrong that has harmed or had the potential to cause harm to a person receiving aged care service. With more than 1.3 million people receiving care in Australia, this is a crucial activity for providers to support continuous improvement within their service.

This self-assessment tool aims to help aged care service providers record how their use of chemical restraints is managed. It relates to consumers who are prescribed psychotropic medication(s) (particularly anti-psychotics and benzodiazepines), including for PRN (as needed) use.