Investigation told of ‘cruel’ home care wait

THE long delays for elderly Australians to get the support they need to remain in their homes are cruel and causing great suffering as people die waiting, an inquiry has heard.

The Federal Government would need to spend an extra $2-2.5 billion a year to get the waiting times to a reasonable level, the aged care royal commission heard yesterday.

More people are waiting to get care and support at their assessed level of need than are receiving the home care packages, senior counsel assisting the commission Dr Timothy McEvoy QC said. “The waiting times to which older Australians have been subjected, in between being assessed as needing home care packages and actually receiving funding for care, are severe and unacceptable,” Dr McEvoy said.

“This has caused great suffering and continues to do so.

“Long waiting lists are cruel, unfair, disrespectful and discriminatory against older Australians.”

Health Department data suggests people will wait for a year or longer for all but the lowest level of home care package.

Dr McEvoy said the waiting time between assessment and the allocation of funding had to be reduced as closely as practicable to zero.

He said 212,860 people appeared in the national prioritisation system during 2017-18, more than 16,000 of whom died waiting for a package they never received.

Fiona Buffinton, who heads up the Health Department’s In Home Aged Care division, said getting all people on the waiting list the level of home care they needed would require an additional $2-2.5 billion a year, she said.