Apr 30, 2020

100,000 still waiting for home care

New figures released today reveal more than 104,000 older Australians are stilling waiting for the home care package they have been approved for.

These shocking figures follow the Aged Care Royal Commission’s interim report which called the long waiting times older Australians faced for home care ‘neglect’.

The new data confirms the Morrison Government’s response to the Royal Commission’s interim report has failed.

The Morrison Government released just 10,000 more home care packages after the scathing interim report, with more than half already released when this data was recorded.

While Australians are understandably concerned and focused on the risks of COVID-19 to older people, we must not forget the failings of our country’s broken aged care system.

The Morrison Government cannot wait for the COVID-19 crisis to be over to do more to fix our aged care system.  Indeed today’s figures show 100,000 older Australians are at home without the services they need during this crisis.

When the Morrison Government announced its response to the Aged Care Royal Commission’s interim report, Labor called the additional home care packages ‘a drop in the ocean’.

Sadly these new figures confirm this.

The shocking figures that reveal the crisis in Australia’s aged care system just keep growing.

Almost 30,000 older Australians sadly passed away in just two years while waiting for a home care package.

Waiting times for aged care have exploded by almost 300% under the Liberals, with older Australians waiting longer and longer for permanent care or a home care package.

Scott Morrison and the Government must do better to ensure older Australians get the quality aged care services they deserve now.

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