On behalf of the Department of Health (Victoria), AHA was appointed to review and evaluate the performance of the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Long Stay Older Patients (LSOP) Victorian initiative.
AHA focused on assessing the effectiveness and efficacy of the initiative in achieving the following four key objectives:
- Strengthen attention to the needs of older people in the hospital and community.
- Improve consistency and integration of service delivery.
- Improve access to a range of ‘age friendly’, appropriate services and settings.
- Reduce the incidence of inappropriate hospital usage by older people.
Our evaluation incorporated review of two other initiatives which form part of Victoria’s implementation plan:
- Improving Care for Older People (IC4OP) initiative
- Hospital Admission Risk Program, Better Care for Older People (HARP BCOP)
The evaluation determined the impact of the COAG LSOP initiative on clients/carers, the workforce and stakeholders, and made recommendations on the sustainability and strategic direction of the initiative.
AHA's evaluation report was published in October 2011 and is available at the Department of Health website.