In the wake of ABC Lateline’s scathing article about the quality of aged care in Australia, a north coast aged care provider is calling for more government funding to help ease under-staffing and overcrowding issues.
Cost-cutting has compromised quality care says Pip Carter, the CEO of Ballina’s St Andrews Aged Care Facility. While he was upset by what he heard in the report, he believes they are isolated cases.
“I would have to say that 99.9 per cent [of people] would be appropriately being looked after,” he said, “but with the cuts that they are making to funding to those areas and also pushing costs...I can see that maybe quality of care may be compromised.”
Mr Carter believes that the Federal Government is shifting their risk onto the providers and community members under the Living Longer Living Better reform.
Changes to funding have meant that St Andrews Aged Care has lost more than $600,000 of its budget over the past five years.
"I think government funding is one area that needs to be addressed in all care so that we don't have comprising of quality care."