A new initiative has received $31.2 million in government funding to test virtual nursing programs in residential aged care, the Department of Health and Aged Care has announced this month.
The framework will be introduced to 30 residential aged care environments experiencing workforce shortages – prioritising those in rural and remote areas and homes that support older people of First Nations or culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
The project will provide 24-hour registered nursing coverage through telehealth solutions, such as video conferencing and other remote care models to explore how virtual nursing services can deliver consistent and high-quality care to older people in residential care homes whenever and wherever they need it.
It is expected to run from March 2025 to June 2027.
Amplar Home Health will contribute to developing and testing the framework while La Trobe University’s Australian Institute for Primary Care and Ageing will lead an evaluation that considers the impact of virtual care on clinical outcomes, workforce, and service sustainability.
The John Richard Centre for Rural Ageing Research and the School of Psychology and Public Health will also be involved in the research team, focusing on implementation, effectiveness and efficiency of the program.
Research lead Professor Yvonne Wells from AIPCA said these outcomes are all directly related to the depth and breadth of the team’s expertise and that they will ensure their evaluation is robust and informative.
“We’re anticipating some aspects of skilled nursing care will become more available to residents, and we are hoping to see this reflected in the number of admissions to hospital emergency departments, for example, and potentially also in better quality of care measures that are collected routinely by homes, such as the prevalence of wounds and unplanned weight loss, and some of the other indicators of quality,” Professor Wells told Australian Ageing Agenda.
However, there will be some barriers to implementing the framework, she added, with poor internet connectivity being a big one, and whether or not the homes are equipped and ready to utilise the telehealth technology.
“We know that Amplar are intending to provide their own sets of equipment for homes that don’t have good equipment already and to train people to use it, and to help people make it more user friendly – that is by storing it in a place where it can be accessed, having it on trolleys that can be moved around the home and things like that. But again, we don’t know yet how easy the staff will find using this equipment, whether there will be any barriers,” she explained.
“We also don’t know how well the virtual nursing will be accepted by residents or residents’ relatives, so there’ll be an opportunity for people to provide feedback that way as well,” she told AAA.
“There are some things that we certainly anticipate will be problems, and other things that we don’t know yet whether there’ll be problems or not and we just have to wait and see.”
Minister for Aged Care Anika Wells said the investment demonstrated the pursuit of innovation in aged care for the benefit of both older people and the workplace in thin markets.
“The Albanese Government is committed to building and strengthening a valued, supported and skilled aged care workforce to meet the needs of older people,” she said.
“Under the Albanese Government there is now a registered nurse onsite in aged care homes 99 per cent of the time and our requirement for 24/7 nursing is not changing.
“Last year, the government released a Professional FrameWork to support the aged care workforce and encouraging innovation is one of the eight goals we are prioritising.”
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