Consumer Engagement in Aged Care Project

COTA Australia’s Consumer Engagement in Aged Care project was conducted from July 2015 to June 2017. The project was led by Project Manager, David White, who spoke to consumers, carers and families of people using or considering using aged care services, as well as a variety of employees and care workers and other stakeholders in the sector.

Phase One of the project (see Phase One Report: No More Gravy) began with a literature review (see Phase One Report: Literature Review Attachment 1, No More Gravy) and involved consultations that occurred in person around Australia and through an online survey.

The top issues raised in these consultations were analysed and a summary list was presented back to a second round of 18 national consumer and stakeholder workshops (see Phase Two Report: Navigating the Maze), through which the top three issues were identified and potential solutions were raised for consideration. The project team created a steering committee of key stakeholders including consumers, as well as a Lived Experience Advisory Panel (LEAP), and both groups contributed to the oversight of this next phase of work. Three project management groups were established in locations where the top issues and solutions had emerged; Newcastle (NSW), Hobart (Tas) and Melbourne (Vic). Each project location and project management group comprised providers/employers, carers and families, and consumers of aged care services across both home and residential care settings to co-design solutions for the top issue or issues identified. Through Phase Two, the CEAC team developed a wide variety of co-design tools and provided independent facilitation of this phase to achieve optimal success for both the use of co-design methods and solutions that would be:

1. Implemented by the project and services involved.

2. Tested within the timelines of the project.

3. Cost effective.

4. Original and not repeated elsewhere.

5. Able to be scaled up or implemented in other organisations nationally.

Phase Three (see Phase Three Report: Creating a Better Future Together) of the project focused on developing and utilising co-production tools and methods to prototype Phase 2 co-design solutions to final draft and for trial and evaluation. To do this, Co-design Project Management groups (CPMG) were formed in Hobart, Newcastle and Melbourne, each consisting of 18 members made up of aged care consumers, carers and service provider staff. All projects proved to be highly useful with the potential to positively engage and transform the lives of consumers and carers with service providers. Group members spoke very highly of their experience of engagement in co-production and co-design, realising that their capacity and passion for contributing to society, and quality service delivery, was still valuable, meaningful and sought after.

The final phase of the CEAC project (see Final Report: the Co-production Methodology) articulates the methodological approach and the tools that were used to conduct this co-production project. The report has been written to enable service providers to partner with consumers and carers in:

• Identifying problems or gaps in their service delivery.

• Collaborating to prioritise action items.

• Ideating a range of solutions.

• Prototyping solutions to address the concern.

• Implementing and evaluating the prototyped solution.

Importantly, the CEAC project has identified and defined the essential components of co-production (co-design, co-evaluation, co-delivery and co-governance) to provide clarity on and benchmark the minimum standard that a robust application of this methodology requires to successfully achieve valuable, sustainable and relevant change for consumers, carers and service providers, and the aged care sector.