Partnering for Outcomes: Governance, Education, and Co-Design

There is the good old saying ‘why re-invent the wheel.’ In other words, if someone has already done the work why not share it with others. In an industry where staff are overworked and underpaid, partnering for outcomes with governance, education and co-design would appear to be the most logical solution. As an industry we should look at opportunities to partner to streamline work and share tools and resources to sustain the industry. Here are some examples of partnering opportunities between aged care provider and allied health providers.

Joint governance cadence:

Monthly Ops: volumes, waits, exceptions, quick fixes

Quarterly Clinical Governance: trends, audits, incidents, Corrective and Preventive Action (CAPAs), policy updates

Annual Review: outcomes vs targets, co-branding, roadmap

Shared tools & templates:

• Single referral form, standard care plans, discharge summary template

• Escalation matrix (who/when/how), emergency/after-hours guide

• Education calendar

  ⦁ falls,

  ⦁ International Dysphagia Diet Standardisation Initiative IDDSI,

  ⦁ reablement,

  ⦁ equipment prescribing

Capability building (your staff & ours):

• Bite-size in-service sessions; skills checklists; co-visits for complex clients

• “Train-the-trainer” packs for support workers (safe transfers, meal fortification, swallow care)

Innovation pilots (90-day sprints):

• Telehealth triage for rapid access and prioritisation

• Group reablement (chair strength/balance) with measurable outcomes

• Data-backed falls program linking physio + OT + nutrition

• Low-friction digital consent & appointment reminders

90-day implementation plan (example):

Weeks 1–2: map workflow, sign SLAs, set up portal/API, test referral form

Weeks 3–6: soft launch; daily huddles on exceptions; refine scripts/templates

Weeks 7–12: full rollout; first KPI pack; governance meeting