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  • The productivity commission has listened

    The recommendations proposed in the Productivity Commission’s Inquiry Report Caring for Older Australians have been welcomed by Mercy Health as appropriate responses to many of the issues that consumers, carers and the industry have been raising.

    These are major reforms which the industry has not seen since the implementation of the Aged Care Act and its care principles back in 1997.

    Mercy Health Chief Executive Officer Stephen Cornelissen said these reforms will allow for older Australian and their families to more easily access the care and support they require, while supporting the desire of many people to remain in their own home as long as possible. The proposed Aged Care Senior Gateway will remove much of the confusion around access to care.

    “Although Mercy Health currently provides aged care services both in a person’s home and within residential facilities, the funding and regulation of the two are very different. The recommended introduction of a single integrated, and flexible, system of care entitlements will allow us to provide real continuity of care to the people we care for.”

    “We are also particularly eager to see funding for the expansion of teaching aged care services, an area that has been neglected for too long. Mercy Health is currently establishing a Chair in Aged Care and we are very interested to seeing how the Chair could be involved in such services,” said Mr Cornelissen.

    The recommended reforms have our support, and we strongly urge the Government to adopt these in the near future to ensure all older Australian’s have access to the care they require.