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The Aged Care Collaborative Flagship Projects will test scalable, evidence-based innovations in diverse aged care settings across Australia.

Submitted by adeel on

Background and aims Static 

Our improvement project centred on the St Patrick’s Green residential facility in Kogarah, Southern Sydney, which has 96 beds and a spectrum of care from independent living to dementia care. 

During the early project phases, we identified several challenges that were impacting on workload prioritisation, communication, staff wellbeing, and aspects of the client experience. 

Key challenges included: 

Senior staff (such as Clinical Care Managers) were spending a large amount of time on administrative tasks and reactive training, reducing time available for residents.  

  • Staff and families often contacted senior leaders directly for all issues, even when others could assist, increasing workload.  
  • Frequent on-call responsibilities were contributing to fatigue and poor work-life balance.  
  • Nursing staff had inconsistent skill levels, creating additional pressure on senior staff.  
  • Staff had relatively few structured professional development opportunities available to them. 

The aim of the Phase 4 project was to address these challenges by: 

Improving staff skills and confidence 

  • Reducing workload pressures on senior staff 
  • Supporting better work-life balance 
  • Creating clearer career pathways 
  • Improving communication with residents and families 

To achieve this, three key solutions were implemented: 

Introduction of specialised “Champion” roles 

  1. A call triage system to direct enquiries appropriately 
  2. A regional on-call model to reduce the frequency of weekend on-call responsibilities 

The project focused on implementing and testing the three solutions, at the pilot site. 

 1. Champion Roles 

  • Staff applied to become “Champions” in specific areas, including behaviour management, cultural diversity, palliative/pain management, skin and wound care, and falls prevention. 
  • Champions were given dedicated time and training, and the responsibility to support other staff. 
  • Their role included mentoring, training, and sharing knowledge across the team.  

2. Call Triage Process 

  • A structured system was introduced to ensure calls from residents and families were directed to the right person.  
  • Administrative and frontline staff received verbal and written guidance on how to manage and escalate calls appropriately.  

3. Regional On-Call Model 

  • On-call responsibilities were shared across a regional team of six aged care homes, rather than limited to the small group of senior leaders at one home.  
  • This reduced the frequency of on-call shifts for individuals and improved support coverage. Typically nursing staff were rostered on-call every second weekend prior to the project, this changed to a 12-week roster. 

All three initiatives were introduced in a planned and staged way, with ongoing feedback collected to improve how the initiatives worked in practice.  

We evaluated our interventions using a range of data sources – including internal follow-up surveys, clinical and operational data, and ARIIA-administered activities (surveys, observations, and interviews with key stakeholders).  

 

Overall, the project achieved positive outcomes for staff and clients. 

 

Champion roles 

 

84% of people who had interacted with a Champion felt that this role positively impacted on the quality of care provided to residents (n=12, internal survey).  

 

The introduction of the Falls Champion also aligned with quantifiable improvements in falls, including a 40% reduction in the frequency of falls in the 3-month period from March to May 2026 (from 47 to 28 falls), and a 38% reduction in fall-related injuries, which is a marker of severity. 

Call Triage Process 

A review survey was distributed to all staff involved in the call triage trial, for instance reception staff, RNs and Clinical Care Managers. Amongst the n=7 respondents: 

  • 72% agreed or strongly agreed that the call triage process reduced unnecessary interruptions for clinical staff, which helped to drive their productivity. 
  • 57% reported improved management of resident and family enquiries, and better outcomes. 
  • 43% felt the phone triage system also led to faster resolution of issues.   

Regonal On-Call Model 

The new rostering system was trialled by 11 participants, seven of whom responded to our follow-up survey. Of these respondents: 

  • 86% reported a greater ability to disconnect on weekends and public holidays.  
  • 71% reported improved confidence in the Regional Nurse In Charge role, as the on-call model was paired with targeted training for these RNs. 
  • 100% had a positive experience with the new model. 

Verbatim feedback reinforced these findings, with staff highlighting increased time with family, the ability to genuinely switch off, and greater freedom to disconnect from work-related communications. 

While results were positive overall, some challenges remained, including the need for: 

  • More training and clearer role expectations for Champions 
  • Continued improvement in communication processes 
  • Ongoing support for consistent nursing capability 
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Resources Developed

Australian Unity is pleased to share two of our key resources with the aged care sector.  

wnloadable resources: [linked here:] 

  • How-to guide for implementing a regional on-call roster 

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