Aged Care Legislated Review – Anonymous 22
Table of Contents
1.Tell us about you
1.1What is your full name?
1.2What stakeholder category do you most identify with?
1.3Are you providing a submission as an individual or on behalf of an organisation?
1.4Do you identify with any special needs groups?
1.5What is your organisation’s name?
1.6Which category does your organisation most identify with?
1.7Do we have your permission to publish parts of your response that are not personally identifiable?
2.Response to Criteria in the Legislation
2.1Whether unmet demand for residential and home care places has been reduced
2.2Whether the number and mix of places for residential care and home care should continue to be controlled
2.3Whether further steps could be taken to change key aged care services from a supply driven model to a consumer demand driven model
2.4The effectiveness of means testing arrangements for aged care services, including an assessment of the alignment of charges across residential care and home care services
2.5The effectiveness of arrangements for regulating prices for aged care accommodation
2.6The effectiveness of arrangements for protecting equity of access to aged care services for different population groups
2.7The effectiveness of workforce strategies in aged care services, including strategies for the education, recruitment, retention and funding of aged care workers
2.8The effectiveness of arrangements for protecting refundable deposits and accommodation bonds
2.9The effectiveness of arrangements for facilitating access to aged care services
3.Other comments
1.Tell us about you
1.1What is your full name?
-
1.2What stakeholder category do you most identify with?
Carer and guardian
1.3Are you providing a submission as an individual or on behalf of an organisation?
Individual
1.4Do you identify with any special needs groups?
People living with dementia
1.5What is your organisation’s name?
-
1.6Which category does your organisation most identify with?
-
1.7Do we have your permission to publish parts of your response that are not personally identifiable?
Yes, publish all parts of my response except my name and email address
2.Response to Criteria in the Legislation
2.1Whether unmet demand for residential and home care places has been reduced
Refers to Section 4(2)(a) in the Act
In this context, unmet demand means:
•a person who needs aged care services is unable to access the service they are eligible for
e.g. a person with an Aged Care Assessment Team / Service (ACAT or ACAS ) approval for residential care is unable to find an available place; or
•a person who needs home care services is able to access care, but not the level of care they need
e.g. the person is eligible for a level 4 package but can only access a level 2package.
Response provided:
The needs for both residential aged care services and home care services are not being met in the Northern Rivers of NSW. There is always a waiting list to get into aged care facilities and often people are placed in residential aged care by happenstance. The carer makes an inquiry at a facility and a vacancy exists, as was my experience in finding a place for a family member with dementia. Insufficient Level 4 home care packages have been allocated given the Northern Rivers has more people aged 65+ than the Australian average.
2.2Whether the number and mix of places for residential care and home care should continue to be controlled
Refers to Section 4(2)(b) in the Act
In this context:
•the number and mix of packages and places refers to the number and location of residential aged care places and the number and level of home care packages allocated by Government; and
•controlled means the process by which the government sets the number of residential care places or home care packages available.
Response provided:
I believe this to be the case, as supply never matches demand.
2.3Whether further steps could be taken to change key aged care services from a supply driven model to a consumer demand driven model
Refers to Section 4(2)(c) in the Act
In this context:
•a supply driven model refers to the current system where the government controls the number, funding level and location of residential aged care places and the number and level of home care packages;
•a consumer demand driven model refers to a model where once a consumer is assessed as needing care, they will receive appropriate funding, and can choose services from a provider of their choice and also choose how, where and what services will be delivered.
Response provided:
I think the shift from a supply driven model to a consumer demand driven model needs to be evaluated sometime after implementation. Once the issues become known then additional steps can be taken to change key aged care services. What is essential is that contestability does not result in locally-based services such as Meals on Wheels and community transport with a strong volunteer structure or specialist services such as the Dementia Outreach Service are not defunded.
2.4The effectiveness of means testing arrangements for aged care services, including an assessment of the alignment of charges across residential care and home care services
Refers to Section 4(2)(d) in the Act
In this context:
•means testing arrangements means the assessment process where:
- the capacity of a person to contribute to their care or accommodation is assessed (their assessable income and assets are determined); and
- the contribution that they should make to their care or accommodation is decided (their means or income tested care fee, and any accommodation payment or contribution is determined).
Response provided:
The implementation of this arrangement at this time is appalling. The people now affected are those whose hard work made Australia the prosperous country it is today. There was no opportunity for these people to prepare for their old age and successive governments guaranteed that in recognition of their efforts they would receive the social support they needed to live a fruitful old age. Economic rationalism has destroyed this model and the current Australian government has gone out of its way to make older Australians feel that they are a drain on the economy and young people believe that they should not have to contribute to the upkeep of the elderly.
2.5The effectiveness of arrangements for regulating prices for aged care accommodation
Refers to Section 4(2)(e) in the Act
In this context:
•regulating prices for aged care accommodation means the legislation that controls how a residential aged care provider advertises their accommodation prices.
Response provided:
The biggest issue with this is the application of contestability to the provision of residential aged care. Not-for-profit providers with limited means are forced to compete with for-profit organisations for clients. The reduction in government spending on aged care over time is also of great concern.
2.6The effectiveness of arrangements for protecting equity of access to aged care services for different population groups
Refers to Section 4(2)(f) in the Act
In this contextequity of access means that regardless of cultural or linguistic background, sexuality, life circumstance or location, consumers can access the care and support they need.
In this context different population groups could include:
•people from Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander communities;
•people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds;
•people who live in rural or remote areas;
•people who are financially or socially disadvantaged;
•people who are veterans of the Australian Defence Force or an allied defence force including the spouse, widow or widower of a veteran;
•people who are homeless, or at risk of becoming homeless;
•people who are care leavers (which includes Forgotten Australians, Former Child Migrants and Stolen Generations);
•parents separated from their children by forced adoption or removal; and/or
•people from lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans/transgender and intersex (LGBTI) communities.
Response provided:
There should never be an issue in regard to this. Difference and diversity should be celebrated not viewed as a means of discriminating against particular groups. More thought needs to be given to how people from any one of these groups can be integrated into existing aged care services and what aged care services need to do to meet the needs of different population groups.
2.7The effectiveness of workforce strategies in aged care services, including strategies for the education, recruitment, retention and funding of aged care workers
Refers to Section 4(2)(g) in the Act
In this contextaged care workers could include:
•paid direct-care workers including nurses personal care or community care workers, and allied health professionals such as physiotherapists and occupational therapists; and
•paid non-direct care workers including: managers who work in administration or ancillary workers who provide catering, cleaning, laundry, maintenance and gardening.
Response provided:
The need for aged care services will only increase as Australia’s population ages. More thought needs to be given to education, recruitment, retention and funding of aged care workers. The starting point should be adequate payment for care staff who have one of the most challenging jobs going and whose remuneration is embarrassingly low. Equally, important is that ancillary workers are also appropriately remunerated. In addition it is essential that staff employed in management roles have people oriented, nor task oriented because we are talking about the caring professions. Economic rationalism has no place in the prevision of aged care. It is essential that all staff working in aged care services are well trained. It is also imperative that the expertise of specialist aged care services such as dementia support groups is not lost as part of an economic rationalist driven model is being applied to the provision of aged care services.
2.8The effectiveness of arrangements for protecting refundable deposits and accommodation bonds
Refers to Section 4(2)(h) in the Act
In this context:
•arrangements for protecting refundable deposits and accommodation bonds means the operation of the Aged Care Accommodation Bond Guarantee Scheme.
Response provided:
This scheme has not been in existence for long enough for pitfalls to be identified. One of the risks is that a service provider will fail to refund or only partly refund a deposit or accommodation bond. That this will happen in time is inevitable unless the Aged Care Accommodation Guarantee Scheme is set in concrete. Once the model based on public sector provision of aged care services is changed to include contestability and competition, thus opening the way for the private sector to become involved the chances of rorting happening increases. There is plenty of evidence of this in the privatisation of out of family care for children at risk. Providers focus on the profit, not the provision of services.
2.9The effectiveness of arrangements for facilitating access to aged care services
Refers to Section 4(2)(i) in the Act
In this contextaccess to aged care services means:
•how aged care information is accessed; and
•how consumers access aged care services through the aged care assessment process.
Response provided:
This process is difficult for many elderly people to access because of its reliance on computers to enter data. The system has been introduced 10 years before it should have been as people in the 60s or younger have a much better understanding of electronic technology than people who are 70 plus. Many elderly people do not have family living nearby the assist with accessing aged care facilities. People who have no understanding of the needs of the elderly have devised and implemented the changes to accessing aged care services. They have been established to benefit bureaucrats rather than users.
3.Other comments
Response provided:
The changes and the proposed changes to aged care provision are a great cause of concern to the elderly. The elderly, regardless of their health status, find change confronting. This is especially so when the change is significant and imposed on the elderly with little or no consultation. Elderly people had the right to think that they would be adequately cared for in their old age by an uncomplicated familiar system.
Page | 1