The Royal Commission into Aged Care this week has discussed the fact that there are 5,802 people aged 65 or younger living in aged care (nursing) homes.
Of those, 172 are under the age of 45.
Commissioner Lynelle Briggs described as a ‘national disgrace’ the fact that approximately 40 ‘younger’ people have no choice but to make this move every day.
It became apparent that aged care homes were a last resort for people with acute illness or disability beyond what their family could manage and there was nowhere else to place them – or they had no family.
Examples would be hospitals that regarded the resident as a ‘bed blocker’, keeping a bed occupied because there was nowhere local for them to go for simple recovery, rehabilitation from surgery, severe disability or simply being in a pre-palliative care situation.
60% of younger people in aged care homes then left as a result of death.
The ‘national disgrace’ is that this is not a new phenomena and the bureaucrats have known about it for decades.
It came out in the Royal Commission that in 2005 a study was completed, recommending and providing $150 million to re-engineer the system.
The $150 million is spent and the number of younger people in aged care homes has slightly increased. The only possible solution on the horizon is the NDIS.
The benefit of the Royal Commission is that we are now discussing the problem and looking for solutions.
