Auckland University of Technology was contracted by the Ministry of Health to evaluate whether changes made to auditing processes have improved outcomes for people living in age residential care facilities. The evaluation was conducted from December 2015 to June 2016 and used a variety of data sources.
Over the last 6 years the Ministry of Health has made a significant number of improvements to the system for auditing and certifying regulated providers. Many of these improvements have been made in response to the Auditor-General’s 2009 performance report ‘Effectiveness of Arrangements to check the standard of services provided by rest homes’.
This evaluation identified the positive impact of the integrated audit at all levels of the age residential care sector. The findings from this evaluation demonstrate that providers are committed to providing safe and high quality care.
A longer certification period was held in high regard by facilities and was generally considered to represent an organisation’s commitment to quality and therefore improved outcomes for people living in age residential care.
Changes to the audit process, including the introduction of integrated audits, have led to improved communication between stakeholders. Greater gains were made for residents when auditors approached the process as a collaborative, quality-focused conversation, rather than a data-focused examination.
Audit data showed an increased number of ARC facilities being awarded a 4-year certification period between 2009 and 2015, along with low numbers of partial achievement scores.