Leading Age Services Australia (LASA) has called on Australia’s aged care and health systems to pose a united front in the interests of older Australians.
LASA CEO, Sean Rooney, said the changing needs and expectations of older Australians and their families must be addressed collaboratively, especially given the aged care system is experiencing significant change.
Rooney said the issue of access to quality and responsive GP care in resident aged care facilities (RACFs) was a significant issue, given the recent Aged Care Survey findings by the Australian Medical Association (AMA), but that it was not a simple staffing fix.
“Providers design their staffing models to deliver on the most stringent national standards set by the Federal Government and enforced by the Australian Aged Care Quality Agency,” he said.
“The basis for deciding on staffing levels and their skills mix needs to be driven by the actual care needs of individual residents.”
The LASA CEO added that funding was another issue, and the system was not sustainable enough to meet the needs of older Australians.
“Independent reviews and industry experts have identified funding as the major issue for the industry, but there is no clear plan to resolve the fact that the level of funding provided to providers is not adequate to meet the changing and growing needs and expectations of older Australians.”
Rooney drove home that the system needed to step up in light of the Productivity Commission’s estimates that by 2050 the aged care workforce would need to have grown to almost one million (an increase of 168 per cent).
“This presents the industry and the nation with a massive challenge that must be addressed holistically and collaboratively.”
