Meet the providers rating five stars

The Federal Government’s Star Rating system is in full effect, aiming to help clients and their families easily compare aged care facilities by looking at four categories to measure quality services – compliance, residents’ experience, staffing minutes and quality measures.

The first ratings were released in December 2022, revealing just 1% of all Australian aged care homes received a five star rating.

Getting a five star rating is no easy take, with a majority of providers receiving a three star rating, so we wanted to know what set them apart from the rest to help you strive towards achieving top marks for your facility.

Hello Leaders spoke with two aged care homes about their five star rating and asked how they believe they achieved their top marks.

Q: What is it like being a five star rated provider and how did you achieve this?

Continuous improvement involving residents and family members in all decision-making about the facility and their care contributed to the five star rating of  Sheridan Aged Care in Victoria, according to Sheridan Aged Care Manager Harman Dhanesar. 

She added that it is important that residents feel comfortable and safe within the facility, and have access to services and amenities that lend to and enhance their life.

“The residents look for a facility that provides a homely environment,” Ms Dhanesar said. 

“Entering Sheridan Aged Care is a continuation of [a] resident’s life journey that provides them with the freedom to make their own decisions and support them to continue doing what is important to them in the community and become involved in resident meetings.”

Ms Dhanesar​​ added that a recent development of its facility has added to the amenities available to residents.

Aged care provider, Sundale, received a five star rating for their aged care home Bowder Lodge Care Centre in Queensland for similar reasons. They found that having a workforce who deeply care about their residents is a really important factor for the facility.

“Our staff take pride in providing great care to our residents, knowing our residents and their preferences, and engaging with their families and support people,” said Sundale’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Helen Sharpley.

“We invested in a really strong clinical governance team who proactively monitor the quality of care our residents receive.

“We have [also] been able to retain team members so the continuity of care makes a significant difference to our residents’ experience.” 

Q: What stand-out points do you feel set your business above the rest?

Bowder Lodge Care Centre surpassed the Australian Government’s Registered Nurse time targets by 44% and nursing and personal care targets by 40%, something Ms Sharpley is very proud of.

Having such high nursing and personal care targets made a great difference to the score that Bowder Lodge was given, and also ensures that they don’t have to worry about future increases to nursing care time requirements in late 2023.

“Less than 1% of all aged care homes nationally achieved a five star rating, so Bowder Lodge is clearly one of the best,” she said. 

Ms Dhanesar attributed Sheridan Aged Care’s level of high quality care to an integrated health service with organisation-wide board governance and quality systems that offer a variety of resources.

“All nursing staff are registered with Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (APHRA) and the residents in our residential aged care facility [also] have access to multi-disciplinary Allied Health services,” she explained.

“[Heated meal delivery system] Burlodge is served in the dining room to promote socialisation and a home-like environment with an onsite kitchen with qualified chefs and freshly cooked meals. 

“The facility has also been staffed as per the Victorian Safe Patient Care Act.” 

Q: What feedback did you receive when being awarded the top rating?

Ms Sharpley said the feedback from the accreditation assessors about the Sundale site was that their documentation was exceptional. 

“We received wonderful feedback from the Australian Government about the quality of care residents receive at Bowder Lodge Care Centre. Our compliance, staffing minutes and quality measures also achieved top scores,” she explained.

“A couple of our residents wanted to speak about their experience with the Minister to reinforce the wonderful care they receive. Through social media, we also had feedback from families of past residents of how caring Sundale had been.”  

For both homes, feedback from clients, their families and the wider community was positive. 

CEO of Sheridan Aged Care, Anne McEvoy, said that this specific facility has received a lot of positive feedback from their residents, families and community about their five star rating.

“We received fantastic feedback on the top rating via our Staff Thank You Celebration event, Facebook posts, word of mouth, emails from previous Board Directors, and Life Governors with common feedback of how proud the Kyabram community is of Sheridan aged care,” said Ms McEvoy.

This feedback has given Sheridan Aged Care and the organisation encouragement to continue working hard to provide quality care.

Q: Overall, what do you believe a five star rated facility look like? What do clients look for in a five star aged care provider?

Both facilities said it came down to valuing the voices and input from residents and their families. 

“Residents (and their families) are looking for care, respect and compassion when they move into aged care and that’s exactly what they receive at Sundale,” Ms Sharpley explained.

“In addition to exceptional care, Sundale’s residents have access to a wide variety of stimulating and engaging lifestyle activities including concerts, live music, quizzes, exercise classes, arts and craft lessons, regular church services and frequent outings.”

Over at Sheridan Aged Care, residents had their input on the facility’s recent refurbishments – making their opinion feel valued.

“We have the latest technology available to our residents, including iPads, televisions, Wi-Fi access, [and] telehealth appointments,” said Ms Dhanesar.

“We provide an extensive recreational and lifestyle program that is based on dignity of risk and the residents ideas and interests [as well as a] hairdressing salon and community kitchen garden.”

Tips for working towards a five star rating 

Want a five star accreditation?

Here are some top tips for achieving the top rating for compliance and excellence:

To become a five-star aged care home, consider:

• Prioritising engagement and participation from clients and their families
• Look at the cultural dynamic at all levels of your company to ensure all clients are treated with dignity and respect
• Invest in finding and obtaining an appropriate number of caring and capable staff
• Perform regular performance reviews and liaise with staff often to strengthen your open door policy and give workers the opportunity to have their say too
• Investing in new assistive technologies that can boost productivity and streamline operations
• Assess internal strategies and policies to ensure they abide by new industry standards 
• Ensuring clients have access to variety of lifestyle and leisure activities

The Star-Rating system can be a great industry bench mark to validate whether you are doing all you can to be among the best aged care facilities in the country.

At a time where the sector has come under scrutiny, it should be a goal to see your facility strive for success, compliance and a five star rating.

How was your facility rated? Do you have a plan to achieve a five star rating? Let us know in the comments below.