Cash for regional and remote care services
Regional and remote multi-purpose aged care services will receive grants averaging at $321,000 each.
More than 100 regional and remote multi-purpose aged care services have received grants averaging at $321,000 each.
The money is being allocated through the Federal Government’s Multi-Purpose Services Program, which provides integrated health and aged care services to communities in areas that cannot support both an aged care home and a hospital. This allows people to stay in their own communities as they get older, close to family and friends.
Following recommendations by the aged care royal commission that the MPS program be maintained and extended, the Government has provided $35.3 million in grant funding for 110 sites to benefit from the scheme through 2022-23.
“The aim is to improve the health, safety and wellbeing of residents, including those living with dementia,” said Minister for Senior Australians and Aged Care Services Richard Colbeck in a statement.
On Monday 7 February, MPS facility Murrumburrah-Harden Health Service was officially opened in regional NSW by Nationals member for Cootamundra Steph Cooke. “Based on the multi-purpose service model, this health service will future-proof care in the region by integrating health, aged care and emergency services under one roof,” said Ms Cooke.
MPS grants of up to $600,000 were made available through a competitive tender process last year and intended for homes or facilities in need of repair or improvement. To be eligible for a grant the work must:
- take place in a home care or residential care home setting
- meet the needs of the community
- are agreed to by the state or territory government and the Commonwealth.
Work may include upgrading residents’ rooms, improving communal spaces and recreational areas, landscaping gardens or ensuring a home is dementia-friendly. Recipients are expected to contribute at least 20 per cent of total project costs.
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