Funding tool must include allied health, say advocates
A new campaign is calling for allied health to be included in the residential aged care sector’s new funding model.
A group of aged care physiotherapists and occupational therapists have launched a campaign calling for allied health to be included in the new residential aged care funding model.
The Death of Aged Care campaign, which launched on Friday, aims to raise awareness about the importance allied health services for aged care residents.
It is calling on Australians to write to aged care minister Greg Hunt and their local Member of Parliament about the need to include allied health in the Australian National Aged Care Classification, which replaces the Aged Care Funding Instrument from October 2022.
The campaign has been started by aged care physiotherapist Alwyn Blayse with the support of iPHYSIO founder Abdul Chatlia, physiotherapist Owen Allen and CQUniversity occupational therapy lecturer and occupational therapist Desley Simpson.
Mr Blayse said they launched the campaign because the government has failed to respond to repeated calls from stakeholders to include allied health in the AN-ACC.
“I haven’t seen any government response to industry calls and individuals who have kept saying this is a terrible thing that the government’s announced,” Mr Blayse told Australian Ageing Agenda.
“It’s getting too late now; that deadline [of October 2022] is just getting too close to keep having meetings and press releases,” said Mr Blayse, CEO of allied health company Allied Aged Care.
If it is not included and funded, aged care residents will miss out on allied health services, he said.
“I’m being not critical of nursing homes, they’re in financial difficulty. They won’t spend something if they don’t have to, even if they care about their clients,” Mr Blayse said.
“We work at a lot of very good nursing homes that do care about their clients; they would love to have allied health in there but they can’t afford to fund that. They’re going to be using any extra money that they’re getting from the AN-ACC on nursing care and other things.
“We’re considered a luxury. We shouldn’t be. We are an essential service. But unfortunately, that’s the way that will pan out,” he said.
The AN-ACC was developed by the University of Wollongong’s Australian Health Services Research Institute as part of the Resource Utilisation and Classification Study in 2019.
The Department of Health appointed La Trobe University in February to undertake shadow assessments of all residents using the AN-ACC, a process expected to take 12 months from 1 April.
Find out more here.
Comment on the story below. Follow Australian Ageing Agenda on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, sign up to our twice-weekly newsletter and subscribe to AAA magazine for the complete aged care picture.
I support ALL Allied health in residential aged care 100%. ANACC might not work by directly funding certain services and it might be separate from care planning but we need to have baseline standards of care for older Australians to receive allied health. If you take Physiotherapy for example having a Physio to conduct assessments and adhoc treatments is not good enough. Older Australians in residential aged care deserve quality care that includes Nursing and Allied health. Older Australia’s who are admitted into residential aged care need the services they require on a clinical needs basis met- non negotiable. Leaving it up to aged care providers and the commission to have a tug of war on what’s required is not good enough anymore. Allied health must be mandated in RACFs and Older Australia’s need to receive a wellness reablement approach to care.
This is very unsettling. I’m graduating as an OT in a few months and my passion is residential aged care… where does this leave most aged care residents who need allied health to function?? This is ageism and neglect.
I am a nee graduate OT as well and have recently started working in aged care. I was happy to follow this path but hearing this broke my heart. If we are no longer needed, then there is no reason to pursue this path. Essentially, whoever is managing the aged care sector is causing its own demise. So the anacc is only demanding for registered nurse per day for residents and the 200 hr staff time is allocated freely.i doubt funding will be used for allied health with that.
If AN-ACC is enacted in its current shape and form, a majority of aged care providers will not engage allied health professionals, especially for wellness and rehabilitation. Allied health professionals’ role in aged care is underrated and needs more acknowledgement. We have been helping our clients with mobility, pain management, falls prevention, skin integrity, pressure area care, risk minimisation/elimination, which are only a few to name. Once ACFI is replaced and there is no incentive or obligation for aged care providers to engage allied health professionals, our elderlies will suffer.
The Government cannot and should not turn a blind eye to such an important issue. The Royal Commission clearly acknowledged and recommended the expansion of allied health services in aged care particularly the role of physiotherapists and OTs in aged care. The Australian Government accepted the recommendation (Recommendation number 38), I wonder what actions of the Government reflects the acceptance.
Allied Health Professionals can and will always have plenty of opportunities to work but the real losers will be the aged care residents.
Any advocates of aged care resident’s reading this MUST raise their voices against such ageism and neglect.