New national guidelines to set the gold standard for future aged care builds

New draft aged care design guidelines from the Federal Government aim to turn institutions into homes.

9News can exclusively reveal the national guidelines, which will set the gold standard for future residential aged care builds or refurbishments, will deliver on a key recommendation from the Royal Commission.

HammondCare has already rolled out the “cottage” care model in facilities around the country, and its new Miranda campus in southern Sydney is a textbook example of the design guidelines.

“People are first and foremost in control of their environment and that’s the key that underpins this model of care,” HammondCare’s General Manager of Residential Care and Dementia Care Angela Raguz said.

Pauline Matthews, 92, moved into the Miranda campus with husband John, after struggling at home.

“If you need to be somewhere, not your own home, you couldn’t be anywhere better,” she said.

“You’ve got full independence, yet you’ve got someone to look after you all the time if you need it. The food’s lovely, the staff are lovely.”

All the equipment required for clinical care is hidden away behind closed doors so residents don’t feel like they’re in a facility.

“We try to make sure they’re all back-of-house, but easily accessible for staff so they can do the job they need to do,” Raguz said.

Central to the guidelines is the principle that residents live in small households of less than 15 in order to foster a sense of community. (9News)

Instead of food being prepared elsewhere in an industrial kitchen, the national guidelines recommend a kitchen be located at the centre of the home.

A fully functioning household kitchen is at the centre of each HammondCare Miranda apartment, where staff prepare meals and residents can choose to pitch in.

“I love cooking and I innovate,” said 87-year-old Warren Wearne. “My mother and father had eight kids. They made every one of us learn to cook.”

Dementia-friendly design principles, including short corridors, contrasting colours and colour-coded taps, make accommodation more comfortable and easier to navigate for those with cognitive impairments.

“There are no dead ends and minimal locked doors,” Raguz said.

At HammondCare’s Miranda facility there are no numbers on doors, but instead memory boxes which can be filled with personal items so residents can easily identify their room.

“Things that are familiar and meaningful to the person can be there outside the room,” Raguz said.

The Royal Commission called for the design guidelines by the start of this financial year.

They are now up for community consultation and will be implemented in July next year.

“We would like to see that there is some way of incentivising providers who do the right thing,” Older Person Advocacy Network chief executive Craig Gear said.

“It might be that there is seed funding or maybe we could tie this to the star ratings.”

Another recommendation from the Royal Commission was to mandate regular dementia training for all aged care staff by July 2022, but that still hasn’t been implemented.

“Having the right design building is also about training staff in the right way,” Gear said.

“Training staff in behaviour support, in dementia, is absolutely essential as we move forward with reforming aged care.”

If you are experiencing issues in relation to aged care, or you would like more information, please call the Older Persons Advocacy Network on 1800 700 600 or visit opan.org.au