August 2024

The Aged Care Association is calling on the Government to follow the lead of Australia’s Minister for Aged Care and immediately create a taskforce from the aged care sector to assist them in addressing the immediate need to release pressure on hospital beds.

“The Government’s Nation-wide Service and Campus Planning report shows that without changes to the way we deliver safe and sustainable support to our growing senior community, by 2043, 9 out of 10 hospital beds will be filled by someone aged 65 or over,” says Aged Care Association CE Tracey Martin. “If the Government would work with those of us in the sector currently delivering care, we can help them develop a practical, workable and sustainable care continuum that will release some of this pressure. However, to date our offers to co-design have been ignored or dismissed.”

Ms Martin points to the work done by the Australian Minister for Aged Care, Anika Wells, who not only formed an Aged Care Taskforce but personally chaired it herself. “That is a Minister who has taken the bull by the horns, and working with those on the frontline of community and residential care, delivered their report in March this year to the Australian Government. That report means that once again the Australians are a step ahead of us towards delivering a sustainable aged care system that provides high quality care to all Australians now and into the future.”

“We were very disappointed when the Associate Minister of Health with delegations for Aged Care declined our offer to travel to Australia in a cross-party delegation to gain a greater understanding of the changes implemented over the last two years by our Aussie neighbours,” Tracey continues. “We know the government is cash-strapped so our Association had offered to finance the visit, because our members are passionate about ensuring that the seniors of today and tomorrow are not left without the appropriate level of care or support just because this government wants to keep them out of a hospital bed.”

“We reiterate our concerns that Te Whatu Ora is designing a new care delivery model behind closed doors, with no provision for co-design.” Ms Martin points out “The Ageing Well Team has been instructed to save 200,000 bed nights per year in our hospitals. We join with our home and community colleagues to once again offer to work collaboratively with the Minister to ensure that we design a system that works for our seniors and communities, not just for Te Whatu Ora and cost savings.”

The recent decision by Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand to decommission the four flexi-beds used for respite care at the Rangiora Health Hub is deeply concerning for aged care providers and the community. The decision to reallocate the space at Rangiora Health Hub for other purposes should not come at the expense of essential respite care services.

The claim that there is adequate capacity within aged residential care facilities to absorb the demand for respite care is misleading. While North Canterbury does have several ARC facilities, only one of these says it has a single bed dedicated to respite care. Many of these providers are already operating at or near full capacity, and the availability of respite care is always conditional to beds being vacant between long-term residents.

We would also point out to Te Whatu Ora that Aged Residential Care providers are not compensated for the additional costs incurred in admitting and caring for short term, as compared to long term, residents. Additionally, providers are not funded to offer respite capacity, and so most providers must prioritise providing a bed to a long-term resident over respite requests.

The Aged Care Association strongly refutes the comments that Aged Residential Care facilities in North Canterbury have sufficient capacity to allow Te Whatu Ora to relieve itself of respite care responsibilities. Statements such as these continue to ignore the reality being faced daily by our members, and the removal of respite care services without ensuring there is long term sustainable alternative provision will instead place more pressure on already stretched families, whanau and caregivers.

It is essential to recognise the unique needs of those requiring respite care, and the vital support these services offer to maintain the wellbeing of both the caregivers and care recipients.

The Aged Care Association calls on Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand and the Associate Health Minister Matt Doocey to work more collaboratively with the aged care sector to find sustainable solutions that address the real needs of the families and community.

Respite care is a critical service that provides temporary relief to caregivers, ensuring that individuals with complex health needs receive appropriate care in a supportive environment. This level of care often requires specialised staff and resources, which may not be readily available in all aged care facilities.