Aged care solution is a prerequisite for health reform: Greens
Senator Siewert backs the states who have called on the Commonwealth to fix up aged care.
The states should not accept the prime minister’s health reform plan until the federal government can demonstrate how it will fix the aged care crisis, according to Greens Senator Rachel Siewert.
The Senator said there is a serious crisis in aged care which has not been addressed by the Commonwealth health plan.
“Our current aged care system is dysfunctional and without urgently needed reform it will be unable to meet the growing demand for aged care services and support,” said Senator Siewert.
“There are growing numbers of elderly people in hospital acute care beds because they cannot find residential aged care or cannot access the care and support they need to return home.”
Senior politicians in the nation’s biggest states have already raised concerns about aged care in relation to the Commonwealth’s health plan.
Queensland’s Health Minister Paul Lucas, Victorian Premier John Brumby and NSW Premier Kristina Keneally have all said that the aged care crisis needs to be addressed before they could commit to the federal proposal.
Senator Siewert said there are 2,000-3,000 older Australians waiting in hospital for residential accommodation at any given time.
“The federal government must immediately commit additional funding to aged care and to start a process of reform,” she said.
“It is essential that aged care is part of the health reform agenda.”
