Marilyn H – NSW
Sandra J – Victoria
Daryl J – South Australia
Karen G – Victoria
Kerry F – Queensland
Pamela B – Victoria
Carolyn C – Victoria
Sonia C – NSW
Penni T – Northern Territory
Jill K – NSW
Lesley B – NSW
Frances M – NSW
Elaine P – Queensland
Lesley O – Queensland
Lorraine M – Queensland
Leigh M – Queensland
Patsy B – Queensland
Catherine G – Queensland
Neil P – Queensland
Pamela R – South Australia
Gav M – South Australia
Maria M – Victoria
Gwyneth C – Victoria
Ian C – Victoria
Pamela L – Western Australia
Heather W – Western Australia
Jennifer B – Western Australia
Kelly G – Western Australia
Insights from the Catalyst Residential Aged Care report 2024
What wrong with aged care … and what’s right?
It’s been a challenge watching my parents age, particularly my Dad. Despite suffering many health problems, he was determined to stay put. Home care was a blessing but it only put off the inevitable. When a doctor confirmed Dad’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis, he submitted. Mum was frail and went into care too. She’s enjoying the social life and art classes. Dad’s health has deteriorated further and he accepts he’s in the right place.
My personal experience of aged care is reflected in findings from The Catalyst Report – Aged care insights 2024. Over seven in ten are enthusiastic about care given by their family member’s nursing home. However fewer than one in five Australians are positive about residential aged care generally. It’s a staggering gap in perceptions, driven partly by media coverage of the worst aspects of aged care via The Royal Commission and the pandemic. And news of staffing shortages also painted a dire picture.
New funding is due from July 2025 via the new Aged Care Act. In addition, aged care will be means tested and non-care ‘extras’ will be subject to user-pays charges. The Catalyst survey indicates that seven in ten Australians are comfortable with aged care being means tested. Over half agree it is better for older Australians to spend money on extra aged care services rather than worry about passing an inheritance to the next generation. One in five disagrees and one in five is unsure.
Additional funding is essential for a sector that has struggled for years. Twenty years ago aged care received less than half a percent of the federal budget. It’s now closer to 4%. But because of chronic shortfalls, providers have been losing money, aged care sites have closed and the industry has failed to build new facilities for the future. Aged care beds could be like hen’s teeth within 10 years.
Most of us want to age in place at home. Australia has one of the most advanced systems of home care in the world. But its popularity, coupled with underfunding and staffing shortages means the sector has struggled to keep up with demand. Wait times have ballooned to three months for lower-level services and a year on average for intermediate or high-level care. The new Aged Care Act will fund new packages though this will take time to materialise.
Happily, those in care now and their family members give nursing homes the thumbs up for safety, caring staff, providing a pleasant environment and residents being treated with respect. Despite improvements, the sector has a way to go on food quality and the dining experience. If my parents have the opportunity to choose fancy food options or Netflix, I don’t expect the taxpayer to fund this. And we’ll happily stump up for Mum’s art classes too.
It’s a real privilege to read the comments from respondents to the Catalyst survey. There are wonderful tales of how nursing staff care for loved ones. And stories of relief when a son or daughter could pass over the day-to-day responsibility of looking after a parent who needed 24-hour care. There are also appalling tales of mishaps, managers who were disengaged and even elder abuse. However the majority of these horror stories seem to be associated with the past … those who parents were in care three, four or ten years ago. It is my honest view … and backed up by the data, that residential aged care is improving.
Many thanks to the thousands who completed the Catalyst survey. I develop reports for providers to help them hear the hopes and fears of Australians. I share the good news and the bad without fear or favour. Your input is sincerely appreciated and will help the sector to continue improving, even if it’s somewhere you and I don’t want to end up. Many will need high quality care. It’s what all older Australians deserve.
About the author
Kevin McCreton is managing director of Catalyst Research and author of The Catalyst Report. He is married with one child and living in Albany WA. His parents are based in an aged care facility in Sydney’s north shore.