Aged-care call to put people first

A new workforce of ‘care finders’, direct entry via a GP and a change in focus among the proposals from the royal commission.

A new workforce of ‘care finders’, direct entry via a GP and a change in focus are among the proposals from the royal commission. Picture: istock

Government should stop rationing aged care funding and focus more on services that improve the quality of life and independence of the 1.3 million older Australians who rely on it, the aged care royal commission has heard.

The sweeping reforms to aged care proposed by counsel assisting the commission Peter Gray QC included downgrading the importance of the MyAgedCare website as the pathway for older Australians to receive services by creating more entry points into aged care, including directly through their GP.

Mr Gray also called for an entire new workforce of government-funded “care finders”, charged with securing appropriate aged care services for clients, liaising with providers and staying with the person across their aged care journey.

In outlining what the commission should consider for the nation’s future aged care program when it submits its final report in November, Mr Gray said it should “prioritise quality of life from the outset all the way through to palliative care.”

“People should be entitled to care that is not only (of) clinical quality but also designed to enhance their wellbeing and quality of life,” he said.

“It should encompass psychosocial supports, happiness, and should integrate with existing supports in the community including from family, friends and support groups,” Mr Gray said. “Funding for supports to enable social connection should be available at all stages of aged care.”

Mr Gray was particularly critical of the current system of rationing aged care services.

“Rationing of aged care funding should be removed,” he said. “People assessed as having needs justifying higher level of care at home should not have to wait until a rationed package becomes available.”

And he noted the difficulty older people have in navigating the MyAgedCare website as their conduit to receiving services.

“People in need of aged care should no longer have to depend on using the MyAgedCare website or call centre to obtain access to aged care,” Mr Gray said. “The system should accommodate referral by health practitioners, social workers, local government employees and other responsible professionals.

“Whether the banner for the care finding and assessment function should be called MyAgedCare is an issue for further consideration. But our preliminary proposal is that it should be different.”

The proposal for government-funded “care finders” was a significant departure from the current system.

“People seeking and receiving aged care should be offered personalised help at all stages, including face-to-face assistance as required, as well as ongoing case management,” he said. “A new workforce of care finders should provide this help where the person wants or needs it on a local basis throughout Australia.”

The proposed model envisaged by Mr Gray did not examine how an uncapped aged care system should be funded. He said funding would be the subject of the commission’s further considerations later this year.

But aged care should encourage people to stay home for as long as possible, which accords with their wishes, he said.

“(It) should provide incentives for innovative accommodation options … particularly directed at enabling people to remain in their own homes or in forms of accommodation less institutionalised than full-time large-scale residential care.”

Mr Gray said the current system of government subsidies should continue, and care should still be provided by a mix of for-profit, non-profit, charitable and religious bodies and governments.