Voters need to put older Aussies ‘first’
To ensure older Australians are able to obtain quality aged care when, and where, they need it, the sector must be sustainable, according to Aged and Community Services Australia (ACSA).
To ensure older Australians are able to obtain quality aged care when, and where, they need it, the sector must be sustainable, according to Aged and Community Services Australia (ACSA).
The peak body recommends:
- Providing aged care when and where people need it.
- Recognising the real cost of quality care and funding accordingly.
- Introducing local face to face centres for care advice and assessment of needs.
- Examining special funding arrangements for smaller aged care services.
- Reviewing the Aged Care Act to reduce duplication and red tape.
“ACSA is asking Australians to consider this federal election (7 September 2013) what is required to ensure that older people receive the quality aged care they want and need in a system that is sustainable into the future,” ACSA chief executive, Adjunct Professor John Kelly, said.
“There are 185,000 aged care beds in Australia. By 2020, we will require 82,000 new beds which, in context, means opening about two 100 bed residential aged care facilities each and every week over the next seven years.
“Not for profit aged care providers, who deliver about 70% of aged care services in Australia, are embedded in the community, relying on dedicated staff and volunteers to deliver quality services in a sustainable manner.
“ACSA would argue that aged care is chronically underfunded. This is not about any particular government and what is needed is a debate about what the community expects for the care of its older citizens and what it is prepared to pay for.
“It is not until we have an independent cost of care study that we will be able to determine how much it actually costs to deliver quality aged care services and then have it funded appropriately.
“Of special importance to Australians is the need to support small stand-alone aged care facilities in rural, remote and regional areas and those who look after CALD and Indigenous communities and the homeless which have much higher overheads and lower incomes and often struggle financially.”
