BaptistCare CEO Charles Moore has cautioned that reforms of this scale carry risks – a view shaped by his experience helping his parents navigate the system as his father, who is living with Parkinson’s disease, anticipates higher care needs.
In a personal reflection published on the eve of the rollout, Charles set out how the changes are touching his family – and his hopes for, and concerns about, the new framework.
“I’m enthusiastic for this change,” he wrote, “but it coincides with a very personal time for me: my dad is living with Parkinson’s and I’m mindful how this period of transition will impact my father’s ongoing care needs.”
His father wants to remain at home with home care. But with limited Packages and long wait times, Charles says he is unsure support will be available when it’s needed:
“Dad may be forced to find a bed in an aged care home earlier than he wants or needs.”
“If my family is finding this tough, I can’t imagine what it’s like for those without an aged care CEO in the family!”
While broadly optimistic, Charles argues that optimism must be tempered with realism about the scale of change and the risks if implementation falters. He describes Support at Home as the centrepiece – a fundamental restructure of how Australians access care at home – but one that will add complexity during the transition.
“Older people like my mum and dad are trying to figure out how much it will cost and whether they will get quality services and an optimal level of care during this period of enormous disruption and change.”
“The hard work starts now.”
“For my dad, for the 15,000 families BaptistCare walks alongside, and for the millions more Australians facing these decisions in coming years, we need to work together through this transition to create an aged care sector that works.”
BaptistCare, one of Australia’s largest providers, supports 67,000 customers nationally.
Read Charles’ article in full here.
