Is it time to start closing our doors?

Written by Simon Kerrigan, November 27, 2019.

The aged care industry is made up of thousands of dedicated people who work hard every day in order to provide a meaningful and dignified period of life for older adults. These people often work under challenging conditions with very little reward outside of the knowledge that they’ve done a good deed for the day.

However, what’s been highlighted recently more than any other time before, is that the industry is failing. Many people within the sector see the royal commission as a kind of “fork in the road” and are hoping that it will create major change.

Whilst I too hold hope about the power of such an enquiry, I’ve come to question this concept of a turning point. I’ve started to consider that if we truly want to see change, then maybe we need a collision rather than a new direction. Hear me out..

The different factions of the aged care community continue to push their own agendas and argue for or against the appropriateness of new legislation, better funding tools or mandated staffing levels. However, the one thing that all parties can agree upon is that there isn’t enough money – unless of course you’re the federal government.

Appropriate staffing levels, availability of skilled staff, ongoing education and training and things like the quality of food have all been attributed to inadequate funding. Whilst the unified acceptance of this shortfall is warranted, what has become increasingly clear is that a lack of funding is now the key justification for sub-standard services.

In 2019, almost half of all aged care homes are running at a loss. Which suggests that homes are legitimately spending every penny in an attempt to provide an acceptable standard of care.

But according to the Aged Care Services Minister Richard Colbeck, up to a third of aged care homes may not be “up to scratch”. So even though organisations are running at a loss, they still can’t meet the required minimum standards.

It doesn't look as if we'll be receiving any significant financial relief anytime soon either, with Minister Colbeck insisting that “government spending alone isn’t the answer”. Whilst I tend to agree in principle, we all know that more money wouldn’t hurt.

So here’s the thing, what about if we all just failed? And I mean properly failed – shut the doors and send residents streaming back into the public health system and back into their families homes. Nobody wants to do it, but I’m sure it would create an immediate and lasting change.

Imagine the outcry of over 200,000 families of residents who are currently living in residential aged care across Australia. I can guarantee the media will enjoy a new crisis story. And it may just give our federal politicians the push which has been badly needed for many years.

My concern with our industries ongoing mantra of “we do the best we can with the funds we have” creates an environment of excuses and complacency. But what it also does is tells our politicians that the doors are staying open, so maybe we’re not too far off the mark and maybe the funding isn’t the real issue after all.

We’ve worked hard to try and make the aged care industry a success, but maybe our long-term future is actually reliant on our failure. 

NOVEMBER 27, 2019