After-hours support is a critical component of care within residential aged care homes (RACHs). After-hours plans identify how to manage residents’ health care in the after-hours period and increase awareness of support available in primary health care (including general practice and pharmacies).
Primary Health Tasmania has created a suite of resources to assist with after-hours support planning for RACHs, including a planning guide and two workbooks plus accompanying instructional videos. The resources were developed specifically for Tasmanian facilities, in consultation with Tasmanian facilities.
After-hours care planning guide for residential aged care homes
This guide contains self-assessment questions to prompt exploration of current after-hours plans at the facility level and for individual residents, and resources and suggestions for what may be included in after-hours plans. The toolkit is designed to be used in conjunction with the facility after-hours care planning workbook and the resident after-hours care planning workbook (see below). It includes an example of a local service directory created by drawing on the healthdirect Australia National Health Services Directory.
More information about the toolkit – and how to use it – is available in this instructional video.
Facility after-hours care planning workbook
To be used in conjunction with the after-hours care planning guide, this blank plan can be used to document a facility’s after-hours plan and contains self-assessment questions to prompt thinking about facility-wide processes relevant to the after-hours period. There is also a quick-guide template, which facilities may use to summarise key pieces of information that need to be accessed quickly and easily during the after-hours period.
More information about the facility workbook – and how to use it – is available in this instructional video.
Resident after-hours care planning workbook
To be used in conjunction with the after-hours care planning guide, this blank plan can be used to document an individual resident’s after-hours care plan and contains self-assessment questions to prompt thinking about the resident’s care needs and preferences during the after-hours period. There is also a quick-guide template, which may be use to summarise key pieces of information that need to be accessed quickly and easily during the after-hours period. We encourage RACH staff to include residents and their responsible persons in the individual resident care planning process.
More information about the resident workbook – and how to use it – is available in this instructional video.