The Future for Aged Care

With the budget being announced shortly, the Aged Care sector waits with bated breath for what is expected to herald a new direction in this area. Many experts are expressing their own recommendations for key changes in a system that has been looking for change for some time.

Quoted in Aged Care Insite, Sean Rooney, chief executive of Leading Age Services Australia says

“Our sector and our nation looks to the Australian Government to commit to a total overhaul of the aged care system to ensure older Australians are afforded the dignity, respect and support they need and deserve. This means ensuring older Australians have choice and access to high quality care and support and that aged care providers are enabled and resourced to deliver this with quality, safety and compassion – always.

The new system will be underpinned by better system governance, appropriate standards and regulation, more transparency and accountability, more staff who are better paid and trained, and a greater focus on research and innovation. … 

Now is the time to make that once in a generation commitment to give older Australians the care they deserve and to ensure this is provided by age services that are high performing, respected and sustainable.”

Stephen Duckett, Director, Health Program, Grattan Institute and Anika Stobart, Associate Grattan Institute. A conversation partially republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.

“ … Third, the government must announce major reforms to the aged-care workforce. It must set and enforce minimum care hours per resident in residential aged care, set up a national registration system for all personal care workers, and mandate that all aged-care workers complete Certificate III training at a minimum.”

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Anthony Albanese, Leader of the Opposition outlines the party’s key actions, particularly for those with Dementia, proposed.

• “ Dementia care must be part of the formal training requirements for doctors, nurses and aged care workers;
• Aged care providers must demonstrate they are competent in caring for older Australians with dementia;
• Providers must appoint dementia support leaders to ensure residents get the care they need;
• Update the national building code to ensure new aged care homes are dementia friendly;
• Recruit dementia support counsellors; and
• Expand existing dementia carer dog programs.”

Underpinning all these recommendations is the urgent need for those caring for our ageing population to be appropriately supported both in their training and competence in their vital role of caring for our elderly loved ones. We look forward with optimism towards a new era in aged care.

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