Dementia Australia has welcomed the Federal Government’s announcement of a further 10,000 new home care packages at a cost of $850 million, as another important step towards supporting more senior Australians, including those with dementia, to remain living independently at home.
Dementia Australia CEO Maree McCabe said as the prevalence of dementia continues to increase so do the waiting lists for high-level home care packages and there appears little understanding around the speed of package approval and the priority lists applied by the government to these approvals.
“The impact of COVID-19 this year on people living with dementia has shown that health policy will continually need to adapt to changing circumstances and as applications for home care places continue to flood in, there will also have to be an additional focus on ensuring there is sufficient resources like skilled workers, to meet this increased demand,” Ms McCabe said.
“Around 70 per cent of the more than 459,000 Australians with dementia are currently living in our community. This additional funding for places will make a substantial difference not only to their lives, but also to those of their families and carers.
“The needs of people living with dementia will continue to grow and so will the expectations of their families, carers and the broader community. By 2058, it is predicted that people living with dementia will increase to almost 1.1 million.
“The more people living with dementia that are supported through home care arrangements means there may be less pressure on residential aged care providers and the acute sector.
“This additional support is always welcome and we urge government to continue to focus its policy on how people living with dementia can urgently be supported well at home.
“Dementia Australia is looking forward to working closely with the government following the handing down of the Aged Care Royal Commission’s full report in February next year.”
Dementia Australia is the source of trusted information, education and services for the estimated half a million Australians living with dementia, and the almost 1.6 million people involved in their care. We advocate for positive change and support vital research. We are here to support people impacted by dementia, and to enable them to live as well as possible. No matter how you are impacted by dementia or who you are, we are here for you.
For support, please contact the National Dementia Helpline on 1800 100 500. An interpreter service is available and the Helpline is open 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday excluding public holidays. The National Dementia Helpline is funded by the Australian Government. People looking
