Aged Care

Aged Care GP Panels initiative

The Australian Government Aged Care GP Panels Initiative aims to ensure better access to primary medical care for residents of aged care homes and to enable GPs to work with homes on quality improvement strategies for the care of all residents. 

• GPpartners aged care initiatives
• Aged Care GP Panels fact sheet
• Aged Care GP Panels Handbook, August 2007

Aged Care Services

• Central Referral Unit - Northside Health Service District - Phone 1300 658 252  or fax 07 3832 8648 
• Aged Care Assessment Teams (ACAT) 
• Commonwealth Carelink Centres - Freecall 1800 052 222 
• DVA - Australian Government Department of Veterans' Affairs 
• Home & Community Care (HACC) 
• Transition Care Program 
• Community Assessment and Referral Service (CARS)
• Hospital in the Nursing Home (HINH) 
• RBWH Residential Aged Care Discharge Medication Trial   Updated - trial goes live 1 July 2008

Resources

Clinical

• MBS items - See info about aged care related MBS items on this website
• The Six Cognitive Levels - Delaune Pollard, Occupational Therapist (Carers Queensland 'Determining Capacity for Decision Making Symposium', 9 July 2007)
• Six Step Capacity Assessment Process - Dr Peteris Darzins, Associate Professor of Geriatric Medicine, Monash University (Carers Queensland 'Determining Capacity for Decision Making Symposium', 9 July 2007). The six step process is taken from the Alzheimer's Association 'Who Can Decide? The six step capacity assessment process', edited by Dr Peteris Darzins, Dr D William Molloy, Dr David Strang. To order the book, see the Alzheimer's Association
• Search our iDirectory - find services and info under topics aged care, carers, palliative care

Hospital and community services

• Adverse Events Form - can be used by RACF staff to inform hospitals of an adverse event
• Brisbane North Community Health Directory, 2007 (PDF) - produced by the Brisbane North Community Health Service to assist you to find services for patients.

Legal

• Advance Health Directives - information from the Queensland Government Department of Justice and Attorney-General about Advance Health Directives.
  • Form - Advance Health Directive 
• Aged Care Act 1997
• Office of the Adult Guardian
• Coroners Court - info about Court functions, reportable deaths, fact sheet for health professionals, etc.  
  • Form 1A Medical practitioner report of death to a coroner  New form, February 2008!
• Understanding 'capacity' (2007) - info sheet for health professionals outlining legal requirements around informed decision making and capacity. 
• Life Extinct, Cause of Death Certificates and the Coroners Act 2003 - an info sheet about confirming cause of death, when to complete a certificate of death and when to report a death. UPDATED August 2007.