About
Hi, I'm Mel
I'm a Registered Nurse with more than 15 years across aged care, home care, community and acute settings. I've run Home Care Nurse Consultant since 2022. I'm based in Brisbane and I work with providers all over Australia. I've worked at every level of a home care business: care worker, coordinator, care manager, operations manager, national manager and consultant. So I know what I'm asking of you, because I've done it.
How I got here
I started as a Registered Nurse on the ward, frustrated by how older people were treated in the hospital system. I moved into the Emergency Department hoping to make a bigger difference there, but people were shipped in and shipped out, and nothing changed for their care.
I moved into care management and worked up to National Client Experience Manager, overseeing 44 offices nationally. I loved it, but I felt constrained. I could see providers needed more support.
Then I became a discharge planner at a smaller rural hospital, thinking that getting people home with the right services was where I'd make the real difference. I hit delays and gaps instead, and people couldn't get the care they needed when they needed it.
That was the turning point. The difference I wanted to make wasn't going to happen from inside any one role. I needed to work directly with providers and build their capacity to deliver the best care they can. That became Home Care Nurse Consultant.
What I've done since
I led a consulting team through internal audits, gap analyses, risk, compliance and quality reviews, including high-risk non-compliance remediation with direct referrals from the Aged Care Commission and the Department of Health.
I've helped providers pass Aged Care Quality Audits and Home Care Registration audits with minimal compliance issues raised. I've helped others overturn non-compliance with detailed response letters to the Commission and continuous improvement plans to put things right.
I've supported providers responding to Commission complaints and audit non-conformances, and preparing quality improvement plans to return to conformance. I've supported clients through starting a Home Care or community nursing business.
What that means for you in practice:
- Desktop gap analyses and readiness reports ahead of re-registration audits, with a structured work plan
- Self-assessment audit tools for Support at Home providers
- Quality management systems, policies, procedures and forms that your team can actually use
- Clinical and corporate governance that holds up when the assessors arrive
- Clinical advice on escalation, deterioration and clinical risk
How I work
I build capacity in your team. As an external consultant I hold no stake in the outcome, so I give you an independent view of risk and I'll say plainly when something isn't working. I take a big, overwhelming pile of clinical, operational and quality data and turn it into a clear, ordered set of priorities.
I can make quality fun. I love a good spreadsheet, and I love red lipstick.
Not sure where to start?
If you're not sure where to start, that's what the free 15 minute discovery call is for.