Healthcare practitioners who care for the eldely should be aware of the new joint venture between Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) and the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission (the Commission) in July of this year. Tego Insurance wants you to know about the statutory mandates that are now in place when caring for our elderly.
This new agreement permits AHPRA’s continued support of the Commission and is there to raise issues about the performance, health or conduct of registered aged care health practitioners and their patients receiving Commonwealth-funded aged care services.
APHRA has the right to disclose information to the Commission when and if they find issues about the safety and wellbeing of patients.
National Register of Practitioners
The agreement also brings an additional commitment by AHPRA to work with the Commission to ensure that all aged care employers are using the National Register of Practitioners (the Register). The Register allows aged care employers to confirm that their health practitioners are appropriately registered and meet the required registration standards and codes of conduct. Practitioners listed on the Register can practise within the scope of their registration in accordance with any conditions or undertakings that may apply.
Obligations You Need to Meet as Elderly Patient Care Takers
Aged Care Centre employers have full responsibility to make certain all of their employees and volunteers are properly trained, skilled and qualified to care for the aged. All aged care centre employers must ensure that their caretaker’s identity, qualifications and registration are legitimate.
AHPRA has previously emphasised the importance of verification on all pertinent documentation before hiring any individual through the Register, especially if there is anything suspicious regarding documentation legitimacy.
There are also continuing obligations after an individual is hired. This means employers must stay up to date with their employees to be certain there have not been any changes to an employee’s registration as well as meet mandatory notification responsibilities.
The Register provides up to date and accurate information in regards to the registration status of all Australian registered health practitioners. There is no better tool for aged care employers to verify an employee’s qualifications.
Tego Insurance is Here to Help
The legal team at Tego Insurance can help you deal with the new obligations you will face when dealing with aged care employees. We are experts at medical indemnity insurance as well as entity medical malpractice insurance.
The Tego Insurance team (with experts in medical indemnity insurance Australia and medical malpractice insurance) can provide tailored advice for you in regards to hiring aged care employees.
Tego Insurance offers medical indemnity insurance for medical practitioners. We are proud to say we have a profound understanding of the Australian medical healthcare industry. It’s this expertise that allows us to service a wide variety of healthcare professionals in Australia. If you have any specific questions, please do not hesitate to contact us!
This publication is general in nature and is not comprehensive or constitute legal or medical advice. You should seek legal, medical or other professional advice before relying on any content, and practice proper clinical decision making with regard to individual circumstances. Persons implementing any recommendations contained in this publication must exercise their own independent skill or judgment or seek appropriate professional advice relevant to their own particular practice. Compliance with any recommendations will not in any way guarantee discharge of the duty of care owed to patients and others coming into contact with the health professional or practice. Tego Insurance Pty Ltd is not responsible to you or anyone else for any loss suffered in connection with the use of this information.