Home care reform needed to support Australia’s ‘silver tsunami’

Shutterstock_717312628
More than one million Australians currently utilise home care services, ranging from transport to personal care. [Source: Shutterstock]

The Retirement Living Council (RLC) is urging the Australian Government to draw on the power of retirement communities by reimagining how it funds and delivers home care services to older Australians.

In its submission to the Government ahead of the May Budget, the RLC is calling for the introduction of a ‘Shared Care’ framework, which would see retirement living communities funded to provide home care services directly to residents living in their villages.

RLC Executive Director Daniel Gannon said retirement living communities are “perfectly placed” to help provide home care services to support their residents to live healthy, independent lives for longer.

“With the number of Australians over the age of 75 set to grow by 70% by 2040, it’s not possible to talk about the future of care and the demand for these services without considering the important housing and health value proposition of the retirement living industry,” he said.

“The reality is that hundreds of thousands of Aussies call a retirement community home, and the policy approach to home care should reflect that.

“We can’t address the aged care crisis by simply throwing more and more tax dollars at it, and then privately funded retirement living sector is ready and willing to play its part […] Some of these people are waiting for up to a year to access home care funding, and sadly a third of this
funding is lost to administration fees before it can be used.”

“Retirement communities can deliver better outcomes, experiences and value for older Australians accessing care – and there are benefits for Government too.

Mr Gannon said the RLC has prepared a new framework – Shared Care – to deliver greater efficiencies for consumers, government, and care providers.

“This report paves a path for government to make the delivery of home care almost 20% more efficient, meaning that older Australians would receive more care per dollar invested,” Mr Gannon said.

“These efficiencies would ultimately save the commonwealth up to $100 million per year, which is a win- win for consumers and Government alike.”

Mr Gannon said these models have been developed to show that significant efficiencies and savings to consumers and Government because retirement villages provide scale for delivering these services efficiently and cost effectively by reducing travel costs incurred by service providers, increasing the frequency of service delivery, and enhancing the quality and suite of services by leveraging those already in place at these communities.

View the RLC’s full Federal Budget submission here.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

How Can We Better Protect Aged Care Staff From Physical Abuse?

A recent spate of attacks on Australian hospital staff has highlighted the serious lack of workplace safety that those delivering care are being forced to deal with.  This time last month, over 22,000 hospital workers in the state of NSW voted to strike due to concerns over workplace safety, and images of battered and bruised... Read More

New Research Grant Launched to Help Combat Elderly Mental Health

Depression and suicide rates are alarmingly high among older Australians. According to Beyondblue, around 15 per cent of Australians over 65 are depressed. Statistics also showed that men over 85 were the most likely age group to take their own life with 39.3 deaths per 100,000 people. With symptoms often being dismissed, there has been call... Read More

Alcohol in nursing homes: How much is too much?

Many aged care facilities serve wine with lunch and dinner, and have a weekly happy hour, but as with all alcohol service, there need to be limitations. Read More
Advertisement