Aged Care Assessment Program

Australia has an ageing population. People are living longer and the birth rate has dropped. The proportion of the population aged 65 years and over is projected to rise from around 12% in 2010 to 25% by the year 2051.There is a higher proportion of older people living in rural areas. Older people often require support and assistance with the tasks of daily living, or they may need to make the difficult decision to enter an aged care facility. The ageing population has already had a significant impact on waiting lists for access to aged care services, some which require an assessment by an Aged Care Assessment Team. The role of Aged Care Assessment Teams (ACATs, or ACAS in Victoria) is to assess the care needs of frail older people and to assist them to gain access to the most appropriate types of care, including approval for Australian Government-subsidised aged care services. In doing this, ACATs conduct multidisciplinary comprehensive assessments, taking account of the restorative, physical, medical, psychological, cultural and social dimensions of frail older people. Assessments are usually conducted in a community or hospital setting. Independent to service providers, ACATs make their decisions in consultation with the client and their carers, and are encouraged to involve the client's General Practitioner. As part of the 2006 Council of Australian Governments (COAG) health reform package, COAG agreed to a measure to strengthen the Aged Care Assessment Program and work towards providing more timely, consistent and quality assessments for frail older people. Following a National Review of ACATs undertaken in 2007, significant work has been undertaken by both the Commonwealth and the state and territory governments to address the Review recommendations. This educational program explores aged care assessments in rural and remote communities, and the role of rural primary health care professionals in the comprehensive assessment of the needs of the ageing and their families. This program also highlights some of the challenges of ACATs in rural and remote Australia. The program examines strategies that have been developed to manage these challenges. Produced by the Rural Health Education Foundation www.rhef.com.au/