A cure for the aged care deficit

Supported living provider, Tall Trees, says an identified deficit in the provision of aged care can be fixed if a more holistic approach is taken rather than the current care model.

Tall Trees director, Phil Usher, says the aged care industry’s long-standing model of low and high care when determining a person’s needs is fast becoming outdated and a potential burden to the system.

Care provided to older Australian’s needs to focus more on an ‘all-care’ model to stay ahead of the deficit as outlined in a recent joint submission from Deloitte and the Aged Care Association of Australia to the Productivity Commission.

Mr Usher says supported living, closely aligned with the concept of ageing in place, allows seniors to move into and live in the one home while receiving varying levels of care depending on their own personal needs and is the perfect solution to the care deficit.

“Over time the aged care industry has gotten used to care in terms of low and high, however it is now recognised that most people require tailored care depending on their individual circumstances,” Mr Usher said.

“This is exactly what supported living provides and meets the requirements of traditional low and high care and everything in between.”

“The deficit in the provision of care is increasing because as an industry we’re not thinking beyond what is in front of us, and we see supported living as one of the answers.”

He believes consumers and the industry need to be more aware of supported living as an option especially for self funded retirees. This would ease the burden on the public health system.

“Because it is still a relatively new concept, many working in aged care such as doctors and discharge planners may not even be aware of this care model,” he said.

The Productivity Commission report says as cost pressures in aged care increase, providers will have little choice but to reduce the hours of care they provide for each package.

Mr Usher says recent statements made by the Australian Nursing Federation (ANF) regarding the amount of time each resident receives help in aged care also support this claim.

“The ANF says the minimum required is four and half hours of nursing care per resident per day, with anything less causing a rise in the number of unnecessary transfers of aged care residents to public hospitals,” Mr Usher says.

“Care has fallen by 20% in the last four years from an average of three hours and 14 minutes to two hours and 36 minutes for each resident per day, well below the required level.”

Mr Usher also says the cost to society as a whole is also of concern with the increasing number of people entering aged care set to further burden the system.

“What will happen if we don’t get on top of the care deficit now, especially with the number of seniors to increase by more than 300% in the next few years, and the number of people aged 85 and over to more than quadruple?”

“It’s clear that matching the right level of care through the right model can spread the costs, taking a holistic approach to providing this care is integral to this outcome,” he said.