There have been a lot of media headlines recently around new Government figures showing that the average waiting time to enter an aged care home has increased by more than 100 days in the last six years.
The latest data from the Productivity Commission found the median wait time for a bed is now around 152 days, up from 105 days in 2016-17 and 84 days in 2015-16.
The numbers don’t sound good.
However, the occupancy rate for aged care homes is around 90% – so there are empty beds available.
So, what are the reasons behind for the increase?
This week, we talked to Ian Yates, the CEO of COTA, a national consumer advocacy group for older Australians.
He believes that times have gone up for two reasons.
Many people who receive an aged care assessment (ACAT) are assessed for both residential care and home care.
While they may meet the criteria to go into an aged care home, Ian says the strong preference for people to stay in the family home and receive a Home Care Package (HCP) means many of those who are assessed are choosing to ‘wait it out’.
The current media spotlight from the Royal Commission into Aged Care is adding to families’ reluctance to place Mum or Dad into care.
Ian says the Government’s current system of allocating aged care beds to providers also means some good providers are prevented from expanding – because they don’t have approval for the beds in the areas where they want to build.
But waiting for a HCP has its own problems. The same data also showed the waiting times for packages now range from around seven months for a basic Level 1 to up to 34 months for the highest-level Level 4 packages in some states.
That is over two-and-a-half years on the queue!
Sadly, most older people do not have that time to wait for services and their health may decline over that time – making the move into residential care necessary rather than just an option.
Our older Australians deserve the care they need at the time they need it.
The Government is now weighing up a report that would abolish the current aged care approach round and replace it with a new system.
The Royal Commission’s Interim Report also called for more HCPs to reduce the current waiting list which stands at around 112,000.
The Government provided 10,000 new packages in response, but it is clear more are needed plus a plan to increase the workforce to meet the demand.
Will these numbers be enough to make the Government sit up?
