Complaints surge in aged care

Aged care-related complaints have risen in the past four years, with 34 per cent of older Australians reporting that their needs are not being fully met.

Aged care-related complaints have risen in the past four years, with 34 per cent of older Australians reporting that their needs are not being fully met.

While waiting times for a level-four package dropped slightly from 30 months to 28 months in 2019-20 from the previous year, it is still taking elderly Australians more than two years to be approved for the highest level of aged care.

The Productivity Commission’s report into government services, released on Wednesday, says the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission received 8539 complaints in 2019-20, of which 6335 were from nursing homes.

The complaints, which equate to 33.4 complaints per 1000 residents, compare with 30.4 in 2018-19 and just 23.1 in 2017-18.

According to the report, 34 per cent of older people receiving care at home said their needs were not being fully met.

The proportion was even higher for those with a profound or severe disability, with 41.7 per cent reporting ­issues with their care.

For primary carers of elderly Australians aged 65 or over, only 36.1 per cent were satisfied with the range of services available to help them in their role, down 10 percentage points from 2015.

Seven in 10 primary carers reported being satisfied with the quality of services available more generally to help them, down from 84.7 per cent in 2012.

Less than half (42.2 per cent) of older people entered residential aged care within three months of receiving approval from an Aged Care Assessment Team.

The government spent $21.5bn on aged-care services in 2019-20, or $5063 per recipient.

The updated figures come amid mounting pressure on the Morrison government over its handling of the coronavirus within the nation’s nursing homes and the deaths of nearly 700 residents.

The Royal Commisison into Aged Care will hand down its final report at the end of next month.