Australia’s largest not-for-profit provider of in-home aged care, Silverchain, is calling on the Federal Government to urgently release additional Support at Home packages, warning that older Australians are waiting too long for the care they need and that the consequences are being felt across the entire health and aged care system.
More than 3,600 older Australians are currently occupying hospital beds while waiting for aged care support, and there is growing concern from state governments and sector leaders about aged care capacity.
Silverchain’s Executive Director, Aged Care, Carolyn Bell, said the Federal Government needs to recognise that home care, residential aged care and hospital care are part of the same continuum of care, and that increasing access to home care was one of the fastest ways to improve outcomes for older Australians while relieving pressure elsewhere in the system.
"The vast majority of older Australians want to remain living safely and independently in their own homes for as long as possible, and with the right support many people with complex care needs stay at home where they want to be," Ms Bell said.
"While Australia needs more residential aged care capacity, we also need to recognise that home care is part of the solution. Releasing additional Support at Home packages would help more older Australians receive the care they need sooner and reduce pressure on hospitals and residential aged care."
Ms Bell said delays in accessing care often resulted in declining health, increased carer burnout, avoidable hospital presentations and increasingly, older people becoming ‘stranded’ in the hospital system, waiting for an appropriate care alternative.
"Every delayed or partially-funded Support at Home package represents a human cost for older Australians and their families, but it also creates costs elsewhere in the system. When people wait too long for support, their health deteriorates," Ms Bell said.
Silverchain has long advocated for greater investment in community-based care as an investment in prevention, independence and sustainability across the broader health system.
"Increasing access to Support at Home packages can make a difference now, today. Every older Australian who can remain well, independent and supported at home is one less person unnecessarily progressing to hospital or residential aged care," Ms Bell said
"Sufficient funding and packages must be made available to meet demand. Releasing additional packages, particularly for older Australians with higher and more complex care needs, would deliver immediate benefits for consumers, families, hospitals and the broader aged care system.”
