Almost 5000 older people died waiting for appropriate aged care support at home, it has been revealed. Source: Herald Sun.
And in an illustration of just how hard it is for elderly Australians to get the help they need, a 99-year-old couple was told they will have to wait up to 12 months for new package funding to come through.
Frank and Valma’s plight was highlighted by National Party senator Bridget McKenzie at a Senate Estimates committee on Wednesday.
She said the Victorian couple had been assessed as needing an upgrade to their aged care package, but had been told they would have to wait up to a year to receive the additional funding, by which time they would both have turned 100 years old.
The committee heard from Department of Health, Disability and Ageing staff that Frank and Valma were not classed as a priority, because they did not fall into one of six categories, which include being at risk of homelessness, having cognitive issues, living alone, or being of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander origin.
A further question from Senator McKenzie revealed that in the financial year 2024-2025, 4812 older people died while waiting for the appropriate care they had been assessed as needing.
Shadow Minister for Health and Aged Care Anne Ruston drilled the Department on wait numbers since the new aged care reforms came into play on November 1.
The Community Affairs Legislation Committee heard that on December 31 there were 131,366 Australians waiting for their approved home care package.
Of those, 36,403 were already receiving 60 per cent of the funding they were entitled to, while 94,463 were waiting with no funding at all.
It was also confirmed that the average wait time had increased to nine months, just to receive 60 per cent of their funding.
FULL STORY
Aged care crisis revealed as almost 5000 people died waiting for help (By Julie Cross, Herald Sun)
