In-home care providers insist they have the capacity to help ease the worsening strain on Australia’s health system as 3704 elderly patients remain stranded in hospitals despite being clinically fit for discharge.
The issue was on the agenda at a meeting of state and territory leaders last week, with premiers calling on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to fast-track funding for aged care beds or NDIS-supported accommodation.
States say caring for patients who no longer need acute treatment is costing more than $2.34 billion a year.
But in-home care provider Hazel Home Care argues there is another viable solution: supporting seniors to return safely to their own homes.
“There are some 120,000 older Australians waiting to be assessed for a Support at Home package and a lot of them may well be among the thousands of patients taking up hospital beds right now who aren’t necessarily unwell but do need some sort of help around the house,” CEO Kylie Magrath says.
“That’s where in home care providers can help.
“If more Support at Home packages can be released by the Commonwealth, that’s when we can step in and help these patients return to their own home safely and get settled again.
“I’m fairly confident in saying 100% of these patients would prefer not to be in hospital.
“Older Australians want to live in their own homes where they are able to access their existing local community and cherished belongings.”
The federal government’s new Support at Home scheme, which began on November 1, is designed to keep elderly Australians in their own homes by funding services ranging from nursing care to domestic chores such as gardening and cleaning.
The program replaces the former Home Care Package system following recommendations from the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety. Its headline feature is a near $20,000 increase in the maximum annual funding amount — from $61,440 to $78,000.
The government says 320,000 people held a Home Care Package allocation on October 31, with most expected to transition to the new Support at Home model.
“Older Australians are better off under the new scheme, and that’s the good news,” Magrath says.
“Recipients can rest assured that Support at Home will put them in touch with more relevant services, and simplify the process of applying for funding.”
