Rural aged care must be an election priority
Living in rural and remote areas has many benefits but for older people it can mean long delays for assistance and support in their own homes because of distant links to services; it can mean moving away from a supportive community for appropriate residential care because there is nowhere local.
While aged care providers do all they can with limited resources, the widespread issues of inadequate access and choice of properly funded aged care services are often magnified for older people living outside major metropolitan centres.
Difficulties attracting aged care workers, the additional expense of transporting supplies and long distance travel to reach small numbers of people are daily challenges which have an impact on services.
To address the problems confronting aged care, The Campaign for Care of Older Australians (CCOA), which comprises the peak bodies and national service providers of residential and community based aged care services, launched – The Grand Plan.
“Older people everywhere deserve care and support which meets their needs,” CCOA said.
“Older people should not be disadvantaged, regardless of where they live.”
