The next two weeks will decide if the retirement village sector’s big care strategy, to rely on home care delivered into the village, is built on sand.
The strategy requires village residents to be assessed and awarded Home Care Packages, and requires the workforce to be there to deliver these Packages.
But the Packages are not there and the workforce can earn more money elsewhere.
The Labor Government has all it needs in place to fix this and aged care into the future, but it is sitting on its hands, one assumes because politics is more important than the elderly. (They admit themselves they are holding back because they do not want to be open to attack from the Opposition).
But it is August and it is crunch time.
Home care is tied up in the Aged Care Taskforce recommendations. If the recommendations aren’t crystallised over the next two weeks to be incorporated into the new Aged Care Act, and that legislation is not introduced to Parliament also in the next two weeks, then nothing is likely to happen until after the election – next March most likely.
This is an Armageddon scenario for aged care.
Back on 22 July in The Australian:
Taskforce member Tom Symondson, CEO of Aged and Community Care Providers Association, said it was time for “urgent action” in Canberra to deliver the reforms ahead of the federal election.
“That means the new aged care act must be introduced to parliament in August,” he said.
Home Care and villages
Village operators are likely detecting strain even now in residents getting home care.
The wait list to ‘receive’ a Package has blown out to 68,000 in the past 12 months.
The Government released 40,000 in FY23, 9,500 in FY24 and 24,000 were announced in the May Budget for FY25.
The number of people turning 80 jumps by 44% this year and stays at that level for the next eight years.
Before they get a Package, village residents need to get an ACAT assessment.
Sarah Newman, General Manager Home Services at BaptistCare, which operates in NSW, the ACT and WA, tells us they are seeing long delays for ACAT assessments in some regions.
"We have examples of people waiting 5+ months for an ACAT assessment, and then facing a wait of over nine months for an HCP Level 3 to be allocated, despite being considered an urgent priority," she said.
"People who had received letters six months ago indicating a waiting time of 3-6 months are receiving new letters, still indicating waiting times of 3-6 months more," Sarah said.
"Often, by the time this process is over, the person's needs have increased beyond what they were assessed for, their carer relationships have collapsed, or they have died.
"We are hearing an increasing number of stories of older people who have progressively deteriorated and died waiting for their HCP to be assigned."
Steve Muggleton, CEO of Bolton Clarke, has told us long assessment waiting times are "exacerbating" the situation, particularly in Queensland and WA, where there are not enough ACAT assessment teams to even get older Australians onto the home care waiting list.
WA home care provider Community Vision CEO Yvonne Timson tells us rising costs, such as insurance and the cost of additional compliance reporting, is "crippling". She is predicting that smaller providers won't be able to continue operating in the current environment.
On current trends, 100,000+ people will be waiting to receive a Home Care Package within 12 months if the legislation doesn’t get before Parliament in the next two weeks.
Home care providers will not be recruiting new workers.
Residents in villages will be asking operators, where is the care support that was ‘promised’ in the marketing material?
Village staff, especially the Managers, will be dealing with very sick people.
All eyes are on Parliament, and by extension the calculating back room Labor election strategists.
