Royal District Nursing Service (RDNS)
Finalist - Excellence within the not-for-profit sector
Diversity Framework; Policy, Planning and Practice
RDNS resizedEstablished in 1885, RDNS began as one nurse walking the laneways of Melbourne helping the sick, the frail and the poor in their homes.
As RDNS evolves and expands its services to meet growing demand, changing needs and increased consumer choice there is a fundamental belief in equity of access and culturally inclusive aged care to support a person-centred approach to care.
To help people from cultural and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds live their best life as they age, RDNS is committed to understanding, communicating with and delivering services to people in the ways that they choose.
The RDNS Diversity Framework: Policy, Planning and Practice 2012-2017 acts as a blueprint to guide the organisation in the delivery of person-centred care to clients and carers with diverse needs and from diverse backgrounds. Its purpose is to:
- Introduce a diversity conceptual model that can enhance the organisation and its staff’s understanding about diversity and disadvantage. It is a creative and exciting way of encouraging RDNS and its staff to think about the holistic and person-centred needs of clients. The RDNS Diversity Conceptual Model has and is being used to inform policy, research, education and learning and clinical practice throughout the client journey.
- Introduce and extend structures which support the implementation and management of diversity such as 2 FTE Diversity Managers and regional coordinator staff, 14 Site Diversity Champions, Homeless Persons Program, HIV Specialist service and 14 site diversity action plans.
- Policies and processes to ensure a culturally inclusive approach to service provision.
This framework has resulted in a series of connected activities that support RDNS’ response to CALD communities including:
- Research in partnership with others, covering areas such as dementia care, medicines management, diabetes care and consumer health information have been expanded to include CALD communities.
- Person-centred and culturally inclusive care pathways have been developed for dementia, diabetes, medicines care and palliative care to provide support through screening, assessment, management and referral processes.
- Culturally inclusive assessment tools, screening tools and clinical interventions have been developed and introduced across the many different care pathways at RDNS. These assessment tools include the Diversity Conceptual Model which encourages staff to examine biopsychosocial functioning providing a robust assessment that can be applied across population groups and cultures. A biography section is also included (using a life story work approach) providing the opportunity for nurses to engage with their client to understand key life events, as well as document their personal, religious, spiritual and cultural beliefs.
- Assessment tools such as the Clinical Holistic Assessment Tool (general assessment tool) and a range of specialist assessment tools for medicines, diabetes and palliative care.
- Multi-state research study to explore diversity education and the application of new diversity knowledge and skills into practice. Development of an electronic training tool based on the Diversity Conceptual Model.
- Diabetes talking books (electronic publications that voice information in different languages) available on the RDNS website for the wider community to use.
- Translated medicines reminder cards.
- 24 hour language line.
- Translated health and service information in 35 languages.
- Development of ‘RDNS Translations Standards’.
- Through these pursuits and others, RDNS is committed to the continuous improvement of home support and health services for CALD communities throughout Australia.