SC faces aged care concerns
South Canterbury’s aged care facilities could be sitting on a potential powderkeg of demand, with an upcoming spike in the aged population, according to Aged Care New Zealand chief executive Simon Wallace.
He said with occupancy rates as high as 93 per cent in the region, there was demand coming for more rest homes and dementia beds.
While he said it was not his position to comment on whether there needed to be an extra rest home facility in South Canterbury, he noted demand was very high, and there was an upcoming spike in the region’s aged population.
According to Aged Care New Zealand, in South Canterbury, there are approximately 340 caregiver jobs, and it is projected that there will need to be at least 500 in the region to fulfil demand by 2028.
‘‘We’re sitting on a powderkeg,’’ Wallace said. ‘‘If we don’t meet the demands, then the quality of care would be compromised.’’
Wallace said one of the challenging factors was economies of scale. To be sustainable, the average rest home facility had to have about 50 beds, and a dementia wing.
‘‘We have reliance on immigration to fill those numbers and the Government’s current policy settings mean it could increasingly become a problem.‘‘
Data provided by Aged Care New Zealand forecast 36 per cent growth in the South Canterbury DHB’s aged resident care numbers over the next decade.
Wallace was in Timaru to talk with aged care workers.
‘‘The current funding model for aged care facilities hasn’t been looked at for 20 years,’’ he said. ‘‘It doesn’t recognise the services facilities provide and the nature of how residents have changed. Rest homes are providing multiple types of services, potentially at lower costs than by hospitals because of lower overheads. You can have someone come into a rest home, but their acuity is at hospital level. That needs to be addressed.’’
While the average wage for aged care workers had increased since last year’s pay equity settlement, an agreement to lift the hourly minimum wage for agedcare workers from $15.75 to $19, most aged care workers earned less than the equivalent staff at local DHBs.
As of last year, there were 12 care homes in the South Canterbury region, with just under 600 beds.
Wallace said the contract funding review needed to recognise the importance of providing services in rural or provincial areas.
‘‘If you lose one aged care facility in a place like South Canterbury, that puts huge pressure on the rest of the aged care community,’’ Wallace said.
‘‘Unless new capacity comes along, it’s going to be very difficult to sustain operations.’’
Other challenges included the increase in compliance costs, and doctors’ fees, along with the fact that many rest homes now provided palliative care.