It’s Time to Change Support at Home
3 minute read
More than 2,000 people registered for the Invox Support at Home Free Briefing held on 2 October. The response, the chat and the questions asked reflect a strong sense of concern about the new program, even distress for some. Home care providers are genuinely worried that the program will not deliver what older people need to stay at home.
A lot of the new program elements are genuine improvements so we are not suggesting we throw the baby out with the bathwater. But, we’ve have already written several articles about the problems we believe need to be addressed before the program is implemented, including:
The significant cuts to Care Management funding - with a reduced maximum of 6 hours per month for the top level package
Package Management being removed and included in service pricing - the level of which is still unknown and unlikely to adequately cover costs
The huge level of complexity and costs associated with administering SaH
The top level package set at $78,000 being inadequate to keep older with people higher level needs out of residential care
The cap of 16 weeks on additional funding to support older people dying at home
How smaller and rural and remote providers could be disadvantaged
The lack of flexibility with funding and problems of fixed-price services
How is it possible the government has taken so long to get so many things wrong in home care? The program in its current form will not address the intent of the Aged Care Royal Commission or adequately support the wishes of older people to stay out of residential aged care.
Even if the more powerful residential aged care lobby is happy with the coming change, that is not a reason for home care providers to remain silent. Waiting for further details about concerns when Support at Home launches next July (with the Christmas slowdown in between) is a recipe for mass disappointment. If we wait and the program as it stands becomes DOHAC policy - then change is going to be very much more difficult to attain.
Right now is the time to act. I have spent 40 years in and around advocacy at the national level and I don’t remember a better time for home care providers to affect change in Federal Government policy.
Although the new Aged Care Act has ‘bi-partisan support’, the Opposition are saying they are keeping their options open to demand change. Labor is very sensitive to negative feedback with the election looming next year. Neither the Government or the Opposition can afford to be on the wrong side of older people as a political issue.
There are a number of different avenues we can pursue to change the program including consultation processes and advocacy through peak bodies. But, there is an ace up your sleeves if you care to play it. In my experience, there has never been a better time to visit your local Member of Parliament and tell them your concerns in your own words.
If it’s your first time, you will find it a surprisingly easy process to email your local member and get an appointment. They will want to meet with you and I guarantee they will be interested in what you have to say. You will probably get a cup of tea and be treated like the important local constituent you are.
The politician you meet with is likely to raise your concerns within their party because they want to get re-elected. This is a moment in history when you can affect change.
This is not a time to be grateful that Support at Home offers a few improvements on the current home care package scheme. We have waited years for an approach to support older people to stay out of residential care and this current set of proposals just does not cut it.
If you want to try to improve Support at Home just click here to find the contact details for your local Member.
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