What is a Plan for Continuous Improvement (PCI)?
Continuous improvement is a systematic and ongoing effort to uplift the quality of support and services. Continuous improvement is part of an overall quality system that will inform you how well your management system works and whether or not you are providing your clients with the standard care and support mentioned in the Aged Care Quality Standards.
To achieve continuous improvement as an aged care service provider, you must draft an effective written Aged Care Continuous Improvement plan. This will help you monitor the participants’ needs and assist you in designing activities to improve their functionality and well-being. You will adopt a more result-focused approach which will be evident through your outputs and outcomes.
Key elements of the Continuous Improvement Plan
If you wish to use the PCI to your advantage, you need to consider the following key elements:
1. It must be consumer-focused
2. It must be innovative so that you can stand out against your competitors in the home care market
3. It would be beneficial if you drafted a step-by-step plan so the execution becomes easier
4. It should be driven by the involvement and accountability of all the key stakeholders such as consumers, carers, staff, volunteers, board members, and advocates.
5. It must involve continuous progress monitoring and evaluation to facilitate strategic planning
Why is the PCI beneficial for you?
1. It can be of great help when tackling compliance issues proactively and systematically.
2. It will allow you to efficiently divide your time and resources to maximise your service quality.
3. It can reduce your regulatory burden.
4. It can help you improve your services significantly, making you stand out among competitors and eventually attracting more people to your home care agency.
5. It can improve stakeholder ownership and input.
6. You can have a strong system to monitor and track changes in your organisation.
7. It will allow your employees to be more engaged and satisfied, leading to a lower employee turnover.
The PCI in Practice: The Plan-Do-Check-Act Model
The Plan-Do-Act-Check is a four-phase model that can effectively put your plan to action.
1. Plan
As part of the first step, you must plan the outcomes you wish to achieve once your plan is implemented and the areas of improvement that need working. Also, plan out the resources you will require to implement the plan.
2. Do
Once you have mapped out the plan, you need to implement it. Take step-by-step actions to cater to the challenges identified in the first stage. This will save your time and resources and make your plan more manageable.
During the implementation process, test different alternatives to identify which suits your agency the best. Keep your stakeholders in the loop at all times to encourage their engagement. Also, please keep a record of all the outcomes to keep track of the improvements.
3. Check
Once you have implemented the plan, go through your records to check if the strategies you adopted are successful or not.
4. Act
If your plan is not successful in improving the services, you must go back to the first stage to draft new strategies. However, if it proves successful, start implementing the plan on a large scale.
Looking for assistance?
Do you wish to draft an effective Aged Care Continuous Improvement Plan, but the procedure seems lengthy and daunting? No need to worry anymore, as Fronto Advisory can easily tackle your problem! Their team possesses in-depth knowledge about the home-care market in Australia. They will help you with each step of the PCI, ensure that you face no barriers, and are satisfied with the final plan. Hence, you can place your complete trust in them.
They offer several services, including but not limited to:
- Grant application write-up, preparation, and submission
- Aged Care industry consultation
- Business setup and service delivery advice
- Comprehend rules and guidelines
- Set up MyCare profile
If you wish to avail yourself of any of these services, please feel free to contact them.