Qld flood disasters force people into aged care early
National Seniors Australia (NSA) says the devastating floods in south-east Queensland have prematurely forced some people into aged care.
ABC online reports that the NSA has called on governments to consider the special circumstances facing elderly flood victims.
It says older residents do not have the capacity to recover from the disaster on their own and have had to abandon their homes.
NSA chief executive officer, Michael O’Neill, says some people are being forced into the aged care sector prematurely.
“We’re well aware that there are quite a number of older Queenslanders who have lost everything who won’t be able to adjust, who won’t be able to rebuild and they are unfortunately having to move into different arrangements now,” he said.
“Going forward, particularly much older folk, who’ve now found themselves moving into aged care homes at a time when they certainly hadn’t planned to.
“That impact has been severe, as has the impact on some of the volunteer organisations who are very much part of seniors communities and provide a lot of that social and community support for people.
“They’ve been impacted in terms of their resources and their capacity to support people.”
