‘Constipated’: Aged care minister on delivery of new beds

The Illawarra will receive 73 additional aged care beds under a $25.9 million federal funding package aimed at easing capacity shortages and helping older Australians access care closer to home.

The funding, announced through the latest round of the federal government’s Aged Care Capital Assistance Program (ACCAP), will support expansion projects at six aged care homes across Albion Park, Unanderra, Figtree, Woonona and Tarrawanna.

The largest projects include 22 new beds at Warrigal Mt Terry in Albion Park, 20 beds at Uniting Farmborough in Unanderra and another 20 beds at Hillside at Figtree.

Health, Disability and Ageing Minister Mark Butler said the investment would help increase aged care capacity in a region that is facing growing demand.

“We know the challenge we face to increase bed capacity in our health and aged care systems, and that is why we’re investing so strongly to expand supply, as quickly as possible,” he said.

Aged Care and Seniors Minister Sam Rae said the Illawarra had been identified as one of four national aged care “hotspots” where the supply of new residential aged care beds was failing to keep pace with demand.

Speaking at Hillside in Figtree on Tuesday, Minister Rae said the Illawarra was among the regions experiencing the greatest difficulty bringing new beds online.

“When we looked across the country, the places where we're having the biggest challenges in terms bringing on new aged care beds, the Illawarra was one of those places that we identified,” he said.

“It's not always the best word to use, but unfortunately, the supply of beds and them coming on board with the sector had become somewhat ‘constipated’.”

Minister Rae said the six projects had been selected because they were already well advanced and could be delivered faster than most aged care developments.

“Our ambition has been to bring them on within 24 months,” he confirmed.

“It’s part of why we selected these projects that were already at a point of maturity, and they’re all expansion projects with established providers, relationships across the community.”

The government said the funding would support older people with higher and more complex care needs, including dementia.

“Our region has been experiencing a critical shortage of aged care beds for too long,” local federal Labor MP Alison Byrnes said.

“These new beds will help ensure local people can age with dignity and receive quality care, close to home and close to their families.”

The investment is also intended to help reduce pressure on hospitals, where delays in securing aged care placements can leave older patients waiting longer than necessary for discharge.

Minister Rae acknowledged the issue during his visit to Hillside but said there was no single solution.

“The issue of delayed discharge of older people in our hospitals is a longstanding issue. It’s a very complex issue, and we should be upfront about this. There are no silver bullets to this challenge,” he said.

“We've got to make sure that we're looking at every option to bring on additional residential aged care, as well as to make sure that older people can age in place and receive the care and services that they need at home, to keep them out of the residential care system for as long as possible.”