Rural, regional and remote aged care services receive funding boost

The funding, announced by Minister for Aged Care Ken Wyatt under the Flexible Aged Care Places Allocations Round for Multi-Purpose Services (MPS) initiative, will aide 18 services in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia.

Minister Wyatt says the funding will play a “critical role” for these communities.

“This investment will help ensure more senior Australians have access to high-quality, higher-level aged care services,” he says.

“Multi-Purpose Services play a critical role in small rural communities, many of which cannot support a stand-alone hospital or aged care facility.

“It is important that senior Australians with increasing care needs are able to stay close to friends and family and the communities they have built their lives around.

“This funding will allow these MPS to deliver the care that rural, regional and remote seniors deserve.”

One of the projects the funding will go to support is the establishment of a new service in Bonalbo, New South Wales, which will see the addition on 15 new flexible places.

The care level of 63 existing flexible places previously designated to provide ‘low care’ have been changed to ‘high care’ meaning an increase in funding and service delivery for care recipients with more complex and increasing care needs.

Aged care peak body Aged and Community Services Australia (ACSA) has welcomed the funding, with Chief Executive Officer Pat Sparrow saying that rural and remote providers, including those operating as a Multi-Purpose Service, often face a higher cost base in delivering services that are the life blood of their communities.

“Older Australians relying on these services need the certainty of ongoing service delivery from viable providers and funding needs to protect and ensure that consistency of care,” Ms Sparrow says.