The Federal Government’s commitment to ensuring human oversight in the aged care assessment process is a crucial step towards ensuring that a person will receive the level of care they need to help them stay independent in their own home, COTA Australia says.
The government today announced reforms to aged care assessment, including an escalation process to allow increased human oversight as part of determining the right level of support.
COTA Australia Chief Executive Officer Patricia Sparrow said older Australians have been raising concerns about the assessment system for some time.
“Having an algorithm determine people’s level of care with little opportunity for the assessor or clinician to intervene in the outcomes was always going to create problems,” Ms Sparrow said.
“While older Australians still need to see the specific details of the changes, including what ‘extenuating circumstances’ means in practice, the focus on having human intervention is a positive step.
“We’re still waiting to see the details, and of course these changes won’t make the system perfect, but they should make it fairer and more responsive.
Ms Sparrow noted the Australian Senate today also passed a private member’s bill co-sponsored by Senators Ruston, Allman-Payne and David Pocock. While the Government did not support the bill, today’s announcement includes a commitment to introduce its own legislation following consultation on the implementation details.
“It’s pleasing to see broad support across the Parliament for greater human oversight in the assessment process. We’ll continue to work with all sides to ensure the reforms deliver the best outcomes for older Australians.
“Older Australians need confidence that the assessment process identifies those with the greatest needs, responds when circumstances changes, and allocated the right level of support.
“The change announced today is in addition to the Rapid Review Government has already committed to undertake into the prioritisation aspect of the assessment process. This broader review and consultation will be important to address a range of issues older people are experiencing.
“We’ve long said that when an experienced clinician identifies that an older person’s circumstances require urgent intervention or a higher level of support, there should be a pathway to ensure that expertise is reflected in the final decision.
“We’re looking forward to ensuring the voices of older people are heard loud and clear in the review process and in all subsequent changes.”
Ms Sparrow said while the changes are positive, assessments are only one part of the solution.
“Older Australians also need to receive that care in a reasonable timeframe. Too many people are still waiting months for the support they have already been assessed as needing.
“Getting the assessment right means little if people are then left waiting without the services they need.
“Until people are consistently receiving the right care at the right time, there is more work to do.”
Media contact: Tamara Kotoyan, 0430 291 890 or Alana Mew, 0419 929 722