Ageing Australia is alarmed at the lack of Support at Home packages announced in tonight’s Federal Budget.
The Government has announced an additional $389.8 million in funding for Support at Home, which brings forward new packages, extends End-of-Life Pathway funding, supports a review of the Integrated Assessment Tool (IAT), and digitisation of the financial hardship assistance process.
While we have strongly advocated for many of these announcements and welcome them, the funding falls well short of the amount required to address the national Support at Home waitlist.
We are also concerned by the lack of new funding for the Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP), which delivers care to more than 840,000 older people and is already at capacity.
“This is fast approaching a national emergency. At last count, more than 200,000 older Australians were either waiting for a Support at Home package or waiting just to be assessed,” Ageing Australia CEO Tom Symondson said.
“This funding clearly won’t meet increased demand over the next 12 months, let alone clear the backlog. This creates a real risk to those older people who are waiting for care and increases the chances they will experience poor outcomes or hospitalisation while they wait to get to the front of the queue.”
“We’ve been clear that providers have the capacity to care for more older Australians at home, but we can’t do that without more packages. It’s heartbreaking for providers to be forced to turn older people away who are begging for help.”
“Enabling older Australians to remain in their own homes is a fundamental part of maintaining their independence and their dignity. It also has a flow on effect to the entire health system and takes pressure off growing wait lists for residential aged care, which is now effectively full.”
“While we await the outcomes of the Senate Inquiry into CHSP, we have been pushing for new investment into this critical program. We already know that people across the country are struggling to get the care they need in the community, and this puts even further pressure on Support at Home and residential care capacity.”
