Transition care “on track”: Elliot
The Minister for Ageing says the government’s commitment to transition care is progressing well, with over 10,000 older Australians accessing the system last year.
The Rudd Government’s transition care program is on track, according to a progress report from the Minister for Ageing, Justine Elliot.
Information from the Department of Health and Ageing shows that over 10,000 older Australians received assistance from the program in 2007-08.
Seventy-eight per cent of those participants “improved or maintained their functioning” and 49 per cent were able to return to their homes.
Mrs Elliot has officially approved the creation of an extra 470 places as part of the second phase of the government’s four-year, $293 million transition care election commitment.
The government has set a target of 4,000 transition care places by mid-2012, which it says will assist up to 30,000 older Australians annually.
The new places will be allocated by the end of the month and available from 1 July. According to the COAG Implementation Plan for transition care, they are due to be operational by 2010.
There are currently 2,218 transition care places operating throughout Australia and 218 of the 228 transition care places for 2008-09 are already online.
The transition care program helps older Australians regain their independence after a hospital stay.
It provides low-level therapy, counseling and social work as well as assistance with personal care, and can be offered in a facility or in peoples’ homes.
“Older Australians – after a hospital procedure – want to return to their homes rather than staying in hospital or going into a nursing hostel prematurely,” said Mrs Elliot.
A national evaluation of transition care published in September last year found that the program produced significant benefits for participants but it was costly.
It estimated that every day of transition care cost $213.86 or twice as much as the flexible care subsidy in the same period.
