Budget blitz
Funding to improve food and diet in aged care homes has been a long time coming
Federal government ministers have embarked on their five-day budget blitz, hitting the road and spreading the good word about the 2023/24 budget. And with hopes of eventually prising the seat of Leichhardt from the LNP and MP Warren Entsch, it was only natural that Minister for Aged Care Anika Wells arrived in Cairns on Monday.
Ms Wells, flanked by Senator Nita Green, was in town to announce $12.9m in funding to improve food and dietary outcomes in the aged care centre, part of a $36bn package announced in the recent budget.
The money is of course welcome, but it’s a kind of sad indictment on the nature of the system when these sorts of measures are necessary.
Successive governments have failed to adequately fund the aged care sector. And it’s a natural consequence in a largely privatised industry that – as we have seen in the past – the desire to generate profit at the expense of the consumer (residents) comes at a cost. One of those costs, as the Royal Commission into Aged Care found – was nutrition.
Ms Wells yesterday said the Royal Commission at the time it did its assessments – nearly five years ago now – stated more than 70 per cent of residents were malnourished.
“We want that to end,” she said. The $12.9m is expected to deliver a range of meaningful measures to enhance the quality of food for older people by establishing a food unit in the
Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission, as well as creating a support unit to help link aged care providers with resources and education programs delivered by accredited practising dietitians, among other measures.
Ms Wells said Cairns was chosen for their announcement in recognition of Cairns-based Dietitians Australia President Tara Diversi’s collaborative efforts in lifting the standards of food in aged care. This is all welcome news, but there is a looming issue here.
Funding the aged care sector is only going to get bigger and more expensive as more and more Baby Boomers move into their twilight years. It is vital to see commitments like this year’s aged care budget continue into the future.