Hospital reform leaves aged care hole
Victorian aged care body, Aged and Community Care Victoria (ACCV), says Kevin Rudd’s hospitals reform strategy leaves a gaping hole by failing to address the needs of frail older Victorians with immediacy.
ACCV chief executive officer, Gerard Mansour, said the announcement failed to address the forgotten faces of the health system.
“What about the thousands of frail older Victorians in nursing homes? Are we prepared to let them fall through the cracks because health reform has failed to address the needs of our ageing population?”
“Nearly 50% of all hospital admissions are people aged over 65. The Rudd strategy focuses on hospital needs with aged care treated as an after-thought,” he said.
“We cannot fix the health system without at the same time fixing aged care.”
