Resource the rhetoric in community care

Aged care industry leaders have told the Federal Government that more resources are needed to help support older people living at home. 

In the lead up to the budget they called on the Government to match verbal support for community care with the resources needed to provide a quality service.

“Community care services are being spread more and more thinly,” commented Aged and Community Services Australia chief executive officer (CEO), Greg Mundy. 

“The ageing of our population, older people’s preference to remain in their own homes to receive care and a failure of Government subsidies to keep pace with increasing costs are all making it harder to maintain the level of service that older people need, and deserve.

“Community care should not be funded at the expense of other forms of care, such as nursing homes, with an ageing population we need more of all forms of care.

“As in other parts of the aged care system, successive governments have allowed the value of their subsidies to be eroded by inflation,” added Rod Young, CEO of Aged Care Association Australia .

“Hours of care per person have come under pressure, at the same time as this form of care has become more popular,” Mr Young said.

“The Aged Care Industry Council is calling for an immediate injection of funds into Community Aged Care Packages (CACPs) to a total of $83.5 million in the first year,” Mr Mundy added.

“We also need a boost to the Commonwealth-State Home and Community Care (HACC) program of at least 20% in order to meet current demand. This would add $104 million to this year’s Federal Budget for aged care”

“It’s all very well to talk about older people’s preferences and the fact that many prefer to remain at home. Failing to resource community care properly is a recipe for neglect.”