Qld providers shun costly high care beds
A group of Queensland’s largest aged care providers say they won’t be applying for stand-alone high care places in the upcoming ACAR.
A group of Queensland’s major aged care providers have indicated that they will not apply for high care places in this year’s Aged Care Approvals Round (ACAR).
Organisations thinking of shunning applications for new high care places include Blue Care, TriCare, RSL Care and Baptist Care.
The providers predict a shortfall of beds in Queensland but say the current funding model has not kept up with changing needs.
“We are not going to apply for any stand-alone non-extra service high care beds because it just isn’t viable,” said TriCare CEO, Jim Toohey.
Mr Toohey added that the recent Grant Thornton aged care survey, which found the return on investment for new facilities was just 1.1 per cent, supported the decision of the Queensland providers.
It has emerged that NSW provider, Catholic Healthcare adopted a similar policy back in March.
At the time, the organisation’s Managing Director, Chris Rigby expressed his concerns in a letter to the Minister for Ageing, Justine Elliot.
The letter said: “…under the current circumstances (and given the geographic focus of most of our services), we will not be redeveloping or building new high care services unless they include a significant extra service component.”
It continued: “The current capped funding available for non-extra service high care is insufficient to service and repay the capital required to build new high care services which meet contemporary standards.”
Queensland’s largest provider, Blue Care denied reports that it had put current building projects on hold but said it would continue to carefully monitor its growth plans.
“Blue Care has a number of new infrastructure projects being planned or that are currently underway,” said the organisation’s Acting Executive Director, Kerry Lawrence.
“However Blue Care will not be applying for additional bed licenses in the Commonwealth Aged Care Approvals Round (ACAR) next month.”
“We are critically concerned about current levels of funding for residential aged care.”
Mr Toohey said new funding options had to be considered before more nursing home beds are constructed.
“At the end of the day, it is not a crisis now – the system is not going to fall over tomorrow,” he said.
“But the question is: in the next 5-10 years, with rapidly increasing numbers of people coming through, how are these facilities going to get built? How are we going to fund this?”
Mr Toohey stressed the need for open discussion with the Commonwealth about alternative funding arrangements.
“We are not having a go at the government because they didn’t cause the problem,” he said.
“What we would like to see is not a knee-jerk reaction but a response that puts all options on the table.”
“Accommodation bonds may be part of that but it might also be about looking at things like higher accommodation costs, reverse mortgages or increased daily fees. We need to sit and talk about the options that are there.”
The Catholic Healthcare letter also recommended that consumers should be allowed to contribute more to the capital cost of their care to create flexibility and greater choice.
“This would require the relaxation of the current controls on the availability of aged care places and the ability of older people to choose freely between residential care and community aged care, or any combination of the two that suits their needs from time-to-time,” the letter said.
The news from Queensland follows last week’s announcement that one of Western Australia’s largest providers had handed back 110 high care licences in Mandurah.
