SCRUTINY ON AGED CARE ACTION
It is more than 12 months since the 148 recommendations of the royal commission into aged care were publicly released. So, where are we now?
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
In disclosing the work of Commissioners Pagone and Briggs, Prime Minister Scott Morrison acknowledged a seismic shift was needed in the way we approach aged care, but said this will take time.
One of the biggest challenges for aged care according to the royal commission was the availability of adequate care in rural and regional Australia.
In the final report the royal commissioners wrote, "The data shows that the availability of aged care in outer regional and remote areas is significantly lower than in major cities and has declined in recent years".
It also cited regional Australia as suffering "multiple disadvantages" when it came to aged care. It's an indictment on our country that a nation as rich as ours struggles to provide decent care in regional areas which have (compared to the cities) a higher proportion of older people in the community.
One of the commissioners, Tony Pagone QC, said the aged care system needs to be more decentralised to accommodate the needs of regional Australia.
I'm not sure governments and bureaucrats are that open to losing oversight of care in regional Australia, but that should not be an impediment to giving rural and regional Australia an equal say in aged care.
At the very least the health department should have a stronger presence in regional Australia to know what's happening in aged care at the ground level as was recommended in the royal commission.
The royal commission can only recommend, it's up to governments to take on those recommendations and see them through.
READ MORE LETTERS:
Last year our research team at National Seniors embarked on an arduous journey to ask thousands of older Australians what, if anything has changed in their minds when it comes to aged care. This was especially in the wake of the reports of systemic abuse and neglect within the sector.
The most common response from those who took the time to tell us their thoughts was aged care needed to be more like "home".
They told us of a desire for more home style meals, facilities and atmosphere.
There's a preference for more not-for-profit nursing homes because many of our respondents believe that the profit motive and care are incompatible bed fellows.
The survey also revealed sympathy for age care workers who are underpaid and work in trying conditions. Not surprisingly respondents believe better pay and conditions would lead to better care for aged care residents.
The other sticking point our respondents referred to is the inability to navigate the complex system and find information when choosing an aged care provider. A one-stop-shop for information and advice was consistently raised to overcome this.
In response, we at National Seniors came up with 12 ideals on how to make residential aged care more attractive including, lower fees, increased staff, more diverse aged care homes and more accountability.
We have the answers on fixing the system, and the Prime Minister is right, it will take time to achieve our goals, but the length of that time and quality of outcomes will also be the judge. The clock is now ticking.
Professor John McCallum, National Seniors CEO
HAVE YOUR SAY: Do you have something to get off your chest? Simply click here to send a letter to the editor.
