[Productivity Commission, REPORT ON GOVERNMENT SERVICES 2020]
Tuesday, 4 February 2020
Regulation, policy oversight and funding of aged care services are predominantly the role of the Australian Government - under three successive Coalition governments needs are not being met
Regulation
and policy oversight of aged care services are predominantly the role
of the Australian Government. It funds residential aged care, home
care and home support, with state, territory and local governments
also funding and/or delivering some of these services directly.
However, most services are delivered by non-government providers such
as private-for-profit, religious and charitable organisations.
Government
subsidises a significant portion of the cost of providing aged care,
but clients and residents are expected to contribute where they can
and may be charged fees and payments by service providers.
In
2018-19
there were est.
3.9 million
people 65 years of age or older in the Australian population.
Of
these
older
people:
236,
213 were in permanent residential care;
64,117
had received respite care;
24,137
had
received
transition
care or short-term
restorative
care;
1,072
national ATSI flexible age care program places were operational;
826,335
were receiving home support; and
131,534
were receiving home care packages.
[Productivity Commission, REPORT ON GOVERNMENT SERVICES 2020]
[Productivity Commission, REPORT ON GOVERNMENT SERVICES 2020]
That is est. 1.2 million older Australians who are receiving some form of government funded care.
Government
recurrent expenditure on aged care services was $20.1 billion in the
2018-19
financial year
or $4,874 per older person, with
the federal government providing 98.2 per cent of the funding.
That
low annual level of expenditure per person may be one of the reasons for
this…..
The
Sydney Morning Herald,
23
January 2020:
The
time it takes for older Australians to enter a nursing home after
being assessed as needing residential care has blown out almost 50
per cent in two years, while waiting times for the highest level of
home care package are 34 months.
The
Productivity Commission reports that the median "elapsed time"
between getting approval from an aged care assessment team (ACAT) and
going to a nursing home was 152 days in 2018-19. This is up from 121
days in 2017-18 and 105 days in 2016-17.
In
New South Wales, the median wait time was 143 days in 2018-19 and 124
days in Victoria. Across Australia, almost 42 per cent of older
people entered a nursing home within three months of getting ACAT
approval. Almost 60 per cent of people entered a nursing home within
nine months.
The
Productivity Commission explained the waiting time was influenced by
the availability of places as well as an older person's "preference
to stay at home for as long as possible". The commission noted
people may choose to try to access formal help at home or more family
help, instead of taking up a nursing home place.
It
said there may also be delays if people sold their family home before
going into residential care.
The
Productivity Commission's annual report on government services
follows the aged care royal commission's recent scathing assessment
of the sector. In its interim report, the royal commission slammed
the aged care system as "sad and shocking", "diminish[ing]
Australia as a nation". It also comes amid pleas from the aged
care sector for $1.3 billion in urgent financial assistance to keep
nursing homes open around the country.
The
Productivity Commission's report, released today, said the median
time between ACAT approval and the offer of a home care package
ranged from seven months for a level one package, to 34 months for a
level four (highest needs) package in 2018-19.
The
commission said there was no comparable data on home care package
"elapsed times" for previous years, due to a change to the
approval process in 2017. Federal government data released before
Christmas showed more than 112,000 people were waiting for home care.
The royal commission singled out the home care wait list for urgent
attention last October, noting "many people die waiting".
According
to the Productivity Commission, in 2018, 84.4 per cent of those who
received a formal aged care service in the home over the previous six
months said they were satisfied with the quality of help they
received. This was down from 89.2 per cent in 2015.
The
report also found that 34 per cent of people over 65 who live at home
and were classified as "in need of assistance" said their
needs were not "fully met"…..
Labels:
#MorrisonGovernmentFAIL,
aged care,
government funding,
health,
safety
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