Coronavirus: ‘Increase in-home care to save lives’

Coronavirus-related deaths across Australian aged care facilities dramatically eclipse the fatalities recorded among those receiving in-home care.

Aged Care Minister Richard Colbeck. Picture: Getty Images

COVID-19 related deaths across aged-care facilities drama­tically eclipse the fatalities recorded among those receiving in-home care, prompting Labor to call for an urgent increase in the number of packages available.

There have been seven deaths among the nearly one million Australians receiving federal-subsidised in-home care, compared with the 633 deaths recorded among the 200,000 people living in aged-care facilities, new Department of Health data shows.

Labor’s aged-care spokes­woman Julie Collins is calling on the Morrison government to rapidly increase the number of home-care packages, saying the impact of COVID-19 will only increase the number of elderly wanting to be cared for at home.

“Scott Morrison has failed to properly respond to the royal commission’s call in its interim report for urgent action on the home-care waiting list,” she said. “The upcoming budget must fin­ally address the complete­ly unacceptable waiting list.”

More than 103,000 Australians are waiting for home care, with this number expected to soar by 2024 because of the nation­’s ageing population.

Joseph Ibrahim, head of Monash University’s health law and ageing research unit, said it was clear the number of home-care packages needed to be expand­ed. “This was highlighted by the royal commission in late October­ last year: COVID or no COVID, there are approximately 100,000 people who are at home and aren’t getting the help they need,” Dr Ibrahim said.

“Because of COVID-19 they’ll now be even more frightened about being moved to aged-care facilities and less likely to speak up if in trouble.”

He said more packages could boost the economy through job creation, but cautioned that those working in home care still needed to be trained properly in infection control.

Aged Care Minister Richard Colbeck said the government had prioritised the funding of extra home-care packages since the 2018-19 budget.

He said a further $325.7m, ­announced last month, would deliver another 6105 home-care packages, bringing the total number of additional packages to 50,000 since the 2018-19 budget, at a cost of more than $3bn.

The Australian revealed this month that just 300 of the 50,000 new home-care packages released by the Morrison government in the past three years were actually “new” compared with budget forward estimates.