Help aged care providers now

The Greens believe the federal government’s response to the Productivity Commission report will improve aged care for Australians in the “longer-term”, but “providers are struggling today and need immediate help”.

“Many of the necessary pieces for long term reform are here, and the Greens are looking forward to continuing productive talks with the government, older Australians and aged care providers,” Australian Greens spokesperson on ageing, Senator Rachel Siewert, said.

She said Prime Minister Julia Gillard “rightly acknowledged” the system had problems which needed to be addressed.

“It is good to see the government paying this issue the attention it deserves. They’ve clearly taken on board some of the messages coming from the Productivity Commission and organisations such as the National Aged Care Alliance,” she said.

Senator Siewert stated nearly doubling the number of home care packages is an important announcement, reflecting the “shifting attitudes” to how we deliver quality care for ageing Australians.

“Home care is an important component of an effective aged care system and helps people to remain in their own homes and in familiar surroundings for longer periods of time. The contribution of this to a good quality of life cannot be underestimated.”

In particular, Senator Siewert was pleased to see the allocation of $1.2 billion to address employment problems in aged care.

“In addition to increasing wages and employment levels, this will also help staff retention and will appropriately reward the people working so hard in incredibly important roles,” she said, adding the single gateway to collate information for older Australians and their families was also a welcomed announcement.

“I hope an investment such as this will allow people to have a better understanding of the system and more control over their care decisions.

“The investments in dementia are also essential, especially in areas such as early intervention which is important from a treatment and care perspective.”

She said she was “glad” to see the government “tackling rorting” in the system, but added she would be disappointed if the government used this as an excuse to “pull money out of some services, shift it around and then announce it as a win”.