By Oliver Lees
A key advocate for the welfare of older Australians has raised concerns that those accessing aged care in Moorabool may suffer the consequences as council facilitates its transition away from the service.
On March 2, Moorabool councillors voted to pull the pin on council’s delivery of aged care and disability services.
The withdrawal followed the findings of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, which highlighted fundamental changes to the manner in which financing would be managed between clients and providers.
In a statement, Moorabool mayor Tom Sullivan described council’s decision as necessary to ensure clients “continue to receive the same level of service they are currently receiving”.
Cr Sullivan said council had already commenced the process of finding successors to fill the void after its formal withdrawal, which will begin on June 30.
Elder Rights Advocacy programs manager Debra Nicholl has seen this process take place elsewhere in the country.
Other regional council’s such as Horsham and Campaspe have already completed their own transitions.
Ms Nicholl said that those accessing aged care can often have the quality of that service drop dramatically as management is shifted.
“In particular, rural and regional areas have the tyranny of distance and workforce issues,” she said.
Ms Nicholl said that regional care recipients often have more complex or specific needs, needs that providers without local understanding can struggle to fulfill.
“That’s the main fear for councils getting out of aged care provision, and I fear if [the provider] is not located within the town, it is going to be harder for them to access services,” she said.
“Someone in a regional area may not have a taxi service, so they may need a subsidy towards other means of transport.
“It is more a complicated arrangement between provider and the individual.
“The fear is regional people will not need the flexibility of service [that comes with council withdrawal], what they need is a provider that understands the local context.”
