Inner-city aged care living

Aged care facilities should be a “central place where people can go and visit mum and have a coffee alongside the general population”, Australian Unity chief executive, Derek McMillan, says.

He adds aged care should not be “some sort of walled ghetto; something shoved away”.

Retirees are still “hungry for life”, but the idea of spending their golden years in a suburban retirement home may not be that appealing to some.

The health insurance company is developing a $180 million aged care centre on Rathdowne Street in Carlton, with Mr McMillan telling The Sydney Morning Herald, the facility will “change the way aged care homes are designed in Australia”.

Setting it apart from the traditional suburban, single-storey model of aged care, the location means older residents, who live in the inner-city, will not have relocate to an area far from family and friends when they need extra care.

The six-storey building’s ground floor has been designed to welcome the public with a cafe, shop, adult day-centre, meeting room and seniors’ gym and hydrotherapy pool.

Tight margins in aged care have encouraged the trend towards developing cheaper suburban land with traditional single-storey aged care, but that has made it hard to find facilities in the inner suburbs, Mr McMillan claims.

The mid or high-rise ”campus” style of aged care is becoming more common overseas, especially in the US.

Architect Alex Nock, a councillor with the Victorian branch of the Australian Institute of Architects, says inner-city aged care is a growing market and high-rise aged care in the CBD – within reach of the Southbank arts precinct and with good public transport links – is the next logical step.

Deakin University Professor Bob Cummins undertakes a yearly “wellbeing” survey of 2,000 older people – funded by Australian Unity.

He says many people lose their sense of purpose as they age; and this is particularly noticeable when they move into an environment where everything is done for them.

“That really is not a good recipe for keeping your brain active and also giving you an interest in life,” Professor Cummins says.

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