Addressing the aged care crisis

The WA Aged Care industry is facing one of the biggest crises in its history. Costs of providing Aged Care beds are rising much faster than Government funding.

This means that at a time of unprecedented demand from the community, aged care organisations in WA can no longer afford to provide government-funded beds. In the 2009 aged care funding round only 536 of 1,208 available places in WA were taken up.

This will affect the quality of care received by those currently relying on aged care and is likely to affect most of us who will eventually depend upon the industry.

Unfortunately the Government has not dealt with this crisis.  Cuts to the Conditional Adjustment Payment Subsidy - the mechanism designed to bridge the gap between inadequate federal funding and real aged care industry costs in 2009 - meant that $910m will be lost to the industry over four years.

The Government's inaction comes despite a Senate Committee report, a Productivity Commission report, industry leaders and its own National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission report that all point to the need for structural reform of the sector.

There are many aged care facilities providing high and low care across the electorate of Swan that are facing extraordinary pressures as a result of this crisis.  I regularly visit some of these facilities in the electorate and held a well-attended forum for the aged care industry at Bentley Park to promote a solution to the crisis.

PARLIAMENTARY FRIENDS OF SENIORS AND AGEING

I have also been using my position as the Deputy Chair of the Health and Ageing Committee to stand up for my constituents and push for a solution to this crisis.

In Canberra the Member for Shortland and I have started a new parliamentary organisation to promote a bipartisan solution to this issue.

Parliamentary Friends of Seniors and Ageing (PFSA) aims to raise awareness of issues relevant to seniors and older Australians while at the same time considering the impact of an ageing population and strategies for the future.

We held our first meeting with the Council of the Ageing and helped host a forum for Age Well in February 2012.

PFSA is already having an impact with close to 100 people attending the latest event and it is creating momentum towards pushing the Government to make a response to the Productivity Commission Report and I will endeavour to keep the community updated with progress.