Following his Senate victory last week that forced the Government to commit to immediately releasing 20,000 Home Care Packages, ACT Senator David Pocock says he will continue to hold the Government to account on aged care.
“I will continue to push the Government on this, and make sure they are actually delivering on their commitments,” he told The Weekly SOURCE.
Aged care high on the agenda
The Senator said aged care never strays far from his agenda, with constituents regularly raising concerns about delays in assessment, rationed home care, shortages of residential aged care beds, and limited access to palliative care.
He also hears from providers worried about staffing shortages and whether Government technology systems will be ready to interface with operators when the new Aged Care Act takes effect on 1 November.
“There is a lot of work to do,” he admitted.
David believes there is appetite for further cooperation between crossbenchers, the Greens and the NLP to keep pressure on the Government.
Rationed care under fire
Senator Pocock is particularly concerned that rationing will continue under Support at Home, despite the Royal Commission recommending a demand-driven system. Former Acting Inspector-General of Aged Care Ian Yates AM and current Inspector-Generals of Aged Care Natalie Siegel-Brown (pictured) have also flagged rationing as a major problem.
“[Demand-driven care] was a recommendation of the Royal Commission. Obviously, [rationing] is to constrain costs, but this is not something anyone is surprised about – a growing older population who want to age at home. It’s best for families, it’s better for our healthcare system, and ultimately, it’s cheaper, even if there is a cost,” he said.
The Senator contrasted aged care rationing with other government spending decisions:
“We’re happy to give away gas for free and not collect tax from a bunch of multinationals, but at the same time we turn around to older Australians and say, sorry, we know there’s 200,000 people either waiting for an assessment or approved and waiting for a Home Care Package, but we’re only going to release 83,000 and see how it goes. That just doesn’t make sense.”
Looking ahead
Senator Pocock said he and his team will closely monitor the rollout of Support at Home, particularly pricing and provider viability.
On his working relationship with Aged Care Minister Sam Rae (pictured) – who accused him of political point scoring – David said he would continue to engage “in good faith.”
The Government’s initial refusal to release the 20,000 Packages was “incredibly frustrating,” he added.
“But I’m in here to represent the people of the ACT. I work for them. And this is important.”