At MePACS, we are committed to supporting aged care providers with the new Aged Care Quality Standards that came into effect on 1 July 2019.
This is how:
Standard 1 – Consumer dignity and choice
With falls being the main cause of unintentional injury and hospitalisation among older Australians, MePACS supports those at risk by providing a personal alarm service.
MePACS offers a full response personal alarm service that is guaranteed to be answered by a real person within 2 minutes. If a client should fall or feel unwell, they only have to press one button on their alarm and the signal is received by MePACS. We have trained professionals based in Australia available to respond any time day or night 365 days a year – enabling clients to live the life they wish knowing there is support should anything happen.
Our service allows clients to continue to live independently in their own home, who may not be able to otherwise. MePACS keeps our clients safe, while also supporting them to age with dignity.
Standard 2 – Ongoing assessment and planning with consumers
We work with Home Care Providers to ensure that clients that are at risk of falls or live alone receive a monitored personal alarm to improve their safety. We also offer a daily check in option for clients who require that extra peace of mind in order to support their ongoing health and wellbeing.
Standard 3 – Personal care and clinical care
We offer personal care with our 24/7 response centre team, who are friendly and committed to helping our clients.
We can arrange to set up automated daily reports on the client’s alarm activation activity, which can provide HCPs with indicators of the client’s cognitive and physical health.
Standard 4 – Services and supports for daily living
The MePACS personal alarm supports daily living for clients. The benefit of an alarm system is that it gives users greater independence to continue to do the things they love and normal day to day activities like cooking and gardening, without the need for a carer to constantly be watching over them.
Where risks are lower users are encouraged to stay connected to their local community and get out and about from time to time. MePACS offer a Mobile alarm which includes a two-way speaker and GPS location tracking so it can support users to keep socially active knowing they still had support if help was needed.
The personal alarm also supports the improvement in care through nurses and carers particularly on night shifts.
Standard 5 – Organisation’s service environment
People in aged care need to have personalised support, ideally in a ‘home like’ environment that includes tools to move around freely. Users wearing a MePACS alarm would be supported to do this independently knowing that if they did need help, they only have to press one button. A personal alarm helps to balance the person’s dignity of risk vs the organisation’s duty of care, whilst allowing clients to continue to do the things they enjoy.
Standard 6 – Feedback and complaints
Whether clients are living at home or in residential care, the MePACS service can provide users a lifeline to call for help as well as greater independence and safety.
For example, if a user felt they were not receiving the service or attention they require then this could be reported to MePACS and remedial action taken quickly.
As part of Peninsula Health we also have a formal complaints process.
Standard 7 – Human Resources
We have a fully trained team based in Australia that operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, with friendly and warm people that care about the wellbeing of our clients.
The MePACS operators assess the situation and often will only need to call a contact to help out (who could be a friend, neighbour or family member). If it’s an emergency, then we’ll call Triple Zero straight away.
Standard 8 – Organisation Governance
We are part of Peninsula Health so already operate within the rigorous governance system. We conduct independent consumer reviews, regularly receive client testimonials, and are rated 5 out of 5 stars by our clients.
Our home pendants are waterproof so clients can use them in high risk areas such as the shower or bath.
We carry out regular risk management activities such as monthly pendant testing and disaster recovery exercises, and all of our alarms include a backup battery or low battery warning.