Gilgandra's Cooee Lodge has shown dramatic improvement in meeting tough new regulations a new auditor's report has revealed.

The aged care facility run by Gilgandra Shire Council had come under criticism in a recent report following a surprise three-day audit by the Australian Government Aged Care and Quality Safety Commission.

During the audit, the Cooee Lodge management and team members were interviewed and were required to show evidence to establish compliance.

The progress from the initial unannounced inspection to the final report card has given Council and the community continuing confidence in their locally-owned and managed residential facility.

David Neeves General Manager of Gilgandra Shire Council said that it's been a period of significant development for the facility as the team has had to learn how to comply with stringent new regulations when it has limited staff and resources.

"We have had to adjust and pivot with the Aged Care Royal Commission findings and the creation of new standards," he told the Western Plains App.

David Neeves from Gilgandra Shire Council. Image: Supplied.

"We had to bring things up to speed with a lot of challenges like finding enough people to work in the sector".

He said they had now been accredited for another three years.

The Site Audit had found some deficiencies in consumers' clinical care relating to pain and medication management, and "inconsistent documentation of consumers' condition, needs, and preferences."

It added that the activities officer was on emergent leave during the Site Audit and these shifts were not covered, leisure activities were not provided for residents over the weekend.

"In addition, observations in the secure living environment showed consumers sitting watching television for long periods."

The report said that the organisation did not have effective continuous improvement systems in place and criticised it for not having a Registered Nurse (RN) rostered on-site and on-duty 24/7 and "did not have processes to guide staff in escalating concerns to the on-call RN, and as a result, appropriate assessment of consumers post-incident may not occur".

Image: Gilgandra Lifestyles.

However, the final report showed the facility had just one remaining area of official non-compliance - in organisational governance for its failure not to document "continuous improvement."

In its recent council meeting minutes Gilgandra Shire Council took note of the report.

"The result of the audit is a marked improvement from the findings of the April 2022 report, which resulted in 32 non-compliances and seven (7) unmet standards".