Consumer-focused national guidelines for Restorative CareThe Plug-in

In partnership with the Caring Futures Institute, Flinders University, The Plug-in facilitated workshops with older people and health professionals who had experiences in care at home, restorative care (the existing short-term restorative care (STRC) program) or recent hospital admissions.

Restorative care services focus on short-term interventions to help patients improve their independence following an illness, injury or a recent decline in function. These types of services are critical for improving quality of life and helping people remain independent and living at home for longer.

The purpose of this project was to understand consumer and health professional experiences of restorative and reablement services to inform new national clinical guidelines that will better support older people needing short-term interventions.

Restorative Care (currently STRC) will be a service within the new Support at Home program commencing in July 2025 following aged care reforms.

Project participants insights

Thank you to The Plug-in community who shared their experiences with us for this project. You helped us understand the expectations of consumers, what has worked well, and what can be improved in the new Restorative Care service. We also heard from health professionals who deliver services in the current short-term restorative care (STRC) program.

Some of the key insights we learned through workshops:

Person-centred care, individualised and age-appropriate care is an expectation of consumers;
Clear definitions of restorative care/reablement, and the inclusion of consumer voice and case studies throughout clinical guidelines will ensure a service focus on consumer needs;
Consider individual circumstances to ensure consumers are the best fit for restorative care and success of the program;
Involvement of family members, friends and/or carers is important to successful outcomes for consumers receiving restorative care services;
Age and culturally appropriate training will support positive communications and interactions between consumers and health professionals; and
Restorative care guidelines to focus attention on complex health needs identified by consumers and health professionals.

Recapping the workshops

Two workshops were held in late November 2024 with consumers who had experiences in receiving short-term restorative care, a recent hospital admission, or supporting a family member or friend accessing services. These workshops were held in-person in Adelaide, South Australia.

We also held two workshops with health professionals – occupational therapists, physiotherapists, social workers, nurses, program managers and aged care assessors – to understand experiences in delivering the current STRC program. These workshops were held nationally via an online platform.

The consumer and health professional workshops provided The Plug-in with insights to develop recommendations that are critical in the drafting of new clinical guidelines to deliver a successful restorative care service that supports consumers to live independently at home for longer.

Your impact

This project would not have been possible without input from The Plug-in community!

A key insights report was prepared in December 2024 for the Caring Futures Institute, Flinders University. The report provided actionable insights and recommendations to guide the development of draft restorative care clinical guidelines.

The new clinical guidelines are not yet available, but you can keep up to date with Aged Care Reforms: Aged care reform roadmap | Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care

The information you share with us helps COTA SA and The Plug-in to understand what is important to older people. Through your participation and contribution, you are raising the voices of older people and supporting the important work of COTA SA.