Four months after the DoHAC revamped its aged care portal to include financial information about providers and what they spend, it seems to be in disarray.
The Commonwealth government’s My Aged Care website appears to be full of major mistakes, with some homes reporting to spend more than $1000 a day on each of its residents for things like food, accommodation, care and administration.
The website reveals some aged care homes are reportedly running at losses of more than $600 per resident per day. For a home with 100 residents that equates to more than $60,000 in deficit every single day.
The problems with the website were revealed by News Corp’s national health editor Sue Dunlevy in an article published around the country on Monday, including the Herald Sun.
The article reported some homes reported on the website that they spent just four cents per resident per day on food. One home claimed to charge $22 million for a refundable accommodation deposit, when it was supposed to be $2.2 million, while another was reported to charge $5.25 million, when it was supposed to be $525,000.
The My Aged Care website received a major upgrade launched in February to include more information about the finances and operations of aged care homes and Home Care Package providers.
“Publishing this information aims to improve the transparency of aged care services in Australia,” the Department of Health and Aged Care said in a statement when it launched the revamped site.
The Find a provider tool includes a new “finance and operations” tab for aged care homes and Home Care Package providers. This includes information on how providers operate and what they are spending money on, including care, staffing, administration, food and accommodation and maintenance.
“You can use this information to compare providers and make an informed choice about the aged care service which best fits your needs,” the DoHAC statement said.
However, it appears the site remains riddled with mistakes – even weeks after they were brought to the attention of individual homes and DoHAC.
Health Services Daily conducted its own investigation into the website on 25 June and found a litany of figures that raise more questions than answers.
For example, Hopetoun Nursing Home in Victoria lists its total daily expenditure per resident at $1184.91 – well above the sector average of $344.07.
This includes (all figures per resident per day):
- $418.74 for care and nursing – 118% above average;
- $241.28 for administration – 441% above average;
- $153.34 for cleaning and laundry – 419% above average;
- $226.21 for accommodation and maintenance – 516% above average;
- $145.34 for food and catering – 294% above average.
The data also shows that the home was operating on a daily deficit of -$634.93 per resident per day. The sector average is -$10.90.
“All information on this page is entered and maintained by Hopetoun Nursing Home who is responsible for ensuring the information is accurate, complete and up to date. This information was last updated on 2/4/2024,” the statement reads.
While many homes reported massive daily deficits in their budgets, some did report a surplus, including homes in Sydney and Brisbane.
A spokesperson for Rural Northwest Health, which operates Hopetoun Nursing Home, told HSD the CEO and executives were looking into how these costs were calculated. RNH has another aged care home in Victoria called Yarrriamback Lodge Nursing Home. It lists the total expenditure per resident per day at $777.84 (more than double the sector average) on the My Aged Care website and a budget deficit of -$341.15 per resident per day.
However, due to end of financial year and other priorities a response was not possible today or in the near future, the spokesperson said.
“However, RNH is committed to providing ongoing, quality care to its communities,” she said.
HSD put a range of questions to DoHAC in relation to the apparent errors on the My Aged Care website. Here’s what we asked and the response from a DoHAC spokesperson.
HSD: Is the department aware of any data issues with the My Aged Care website?
“The Department is aware of some data issues with the My Aged Care website and is working with providers to improve the quality of reported information and to address data inaccuracies where they are identified,” said the spokesperson.
HSD: What are the issues and what is being done to address them?
“As part of the Quarter 2 update, the department has undertaken further data quality checks to improve the accuracy of information reported on My Aged Care. Upon receipt of providers’ Quarterly Financial Reports (QFR) the department identified data that fell outside an expected range for key metrics and providers were contacted to clarify or update their data where appropriate. Providers have the opportunity to preview their data prior to publication,” said the spokesperson.
“The department works with providers who identify that their data is incorrect to support resubmission of data to ensure information published on the My Aged Care website is accurate. The department continues to work with the sector to improve the quality of financial reporting, including through targeted communications, outreach and webinars.”
HSD: Why are there such massive differences between homes when it comes to per-resident spending on admin, accommodation and maintenance, cleaning and laundry and food?
“There are a range of provider types making up the aged care sector, and this diversity ensures that a range of needs and preferences can be met. We would expect there to be differences in reported operational expenses, and shining a light on these expenses helps hold providers to account for the care they provide to older Australians,” the spokesman said.
“However, there are standards and legislative requirements that all approved providers are required to meet and where providers are not meeting expectations, including legislative requirements, providers are referred to Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission.”
HSD: Can members of the public rely on the accuracy of this information to make decisions about aged care facilities in Australia?
“In line with recommendation 27 of Royal Commission into Aged Care, the Australian Government continues to enhance My Aged Care to ensure it is the Government’s official source of information that is consistent, accessible, inclusive, reliable and useful,” the spokesman said.
“The department continues to enhance the My Aged Care website in response to user feedback. The department works with providers to ensure they display accurate information and enhance the usefulness of the Find a Provider tool. When the department receives specific details of a provider listing incorrect information, we investigate and request their information be updated in the portal.”
HSD: How is this data provided and verified before it is published on the My Aged Care website?
“As per the Accountability Principles 2014, it is the legal responsibility of aged care providers to report correct and accurate financial data to the department. The QFR must be signed off by a Board Member (or Key Personnel for Government providers) prior to submission,” said the spokesman.
He added that the following data assurance processes were taken as part of the submission of the QFR and ACFR:
- Live validations: when a provider enters a value that falls outside of a pre-determined range, the data collection form will automatically display a warning message or require the provider to include an additional explanation.
- Reasonableness checks: submitted data is reviewed against previously submitted data to check for consistency and identify any significant variations. Where data requires additional explanation, resubmissions are requested. These checks are completed for each quarter of care time reporting.
- Penalties for supplying incorrect information: knowingly giving false and misleading information to the Commonwealth is a serious criminal offence. Where the department identifies someone who has knowingly provided false or misleading information, the department may refer the matter to the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (CDPP).
“The Department may refer providers to the Commission for further monitoring, investigation, and potential compliance action where the threshold for fraud has not been met,” he said.
“Where there remains a concern that the provider has wilfully or recklessly provided inaccurate reporting data, the Commission will also consider whether this misinformation poses risks for the delivery of quality and safe care.”