site visit to irt group

By Nick Guggisberg
 
Participants in the Leadership Illawarra Program visited IRT to learn about the range of services it provides, and the features of their Ross St residential aged care and independent living facilities. In addition, IRT provided the participants with an overview of their strategic planning and business management processes.
 
The visit started with a tour of the facilities followed by the presentations. During the visit we learnt about some of the challenges in the Aged Care Sector. The sector is currently undergoing significant change with changes to the way services are funded and how people access aged care services. The key features of these changes are that:

• people can receive a great deal more help to remain living in their homes for longer before they require nursing home level of support – this results in the average care needs of residents upon entering a nursing home steadily increasing over time
• the sector is moving towards individuals receiving an entitlement of funding that they chose what to spend it on to best meet their needs
• residential facilities are more highly regulated to provide a minimum level of services at a fixed price, with additional levels of support that can be purchased on top of the basic care
• there is a tension between demands for high levels of care while keeping costs down – for e.g. there is usually only one registered nurse to oversee a team of enrolled nurses for 150 odd residents

 
Following the site tour, senior management gave a comprehensive presentation on how the organisation operates, future challenges and key strategic goals. These are summarised below.
 
National Sales Manager – Greg Fisher explained the IRT growth strategy aimed at meeting future and changing needs within the aged care sector.
 
National HR Manager - Richard Walsh discussed the importance of Towards 2020 Strategic Goals – Our People to meet the changing requirements of the aged care sector.
 
Head Stakeholder Engagement - Alison Errey discussed the IRT Groups Four pillars of strategic engagement:

• Our Customers
• Our People
• Our Company
• Our Community

 
We were interested to hear that business has doubled in last 6-7 years, and is predicted to double again in same time period going forward. Alison also talked about the work being achieved by the IRT Foundation in supporting community research projects that improve older people’s lives.
 
General Manager – Craig Smith provided an overview of the history of the IRT Group and answered questions from the group.
 
The visit ended with a networking session with the senior staff. The cohort was extremely grateful for the comprehensive information provided during the visit and as a result now have a much better understanding of the challenges facing the aged care sector in the coming years.