Video: Leading Conversations – Greg Hunt’s three predictions for ageing
The former Federal Health Minister says demographics, artificial intelligence and care delivered in the home will reshape retirement living, home care and aged care.
Speaking at a DCM Group Leading Conversations lunch presented by Lumin, Professor The Hon Greg Hunt said Australia would add around 125,000 people a year to its over-65 population between now and 2057, creating unprecedented demand for retirement living, home care and residential aged care.
Meeting that demand, he argued, will increasingly depend on technology.
Greg said AI was already emerging across administration, diagnosis and resident support, while telehealth, remote monitoring and wearable devices were accelerating a shift towards what he described as “care in place”.
“All of that means that the setting is moving from a hospital or an aged care facility to what’s called care in place,” he said.
Rather than replacing workers, Greg said technology should be used to reduce administration and free up staff to spend more time delivering care.
He also called on the sector to develop a new five-year vision for ageing and care.
“With the Royal Commission and the five-year plan brought out five years ago, where's the next five-year plan?” he said. “It’s time for the sector to present its own five-year plan and then for government to respond.”
The discussion was facilitated by James Wiltshire, CEO of DCM Group, and Chris Baynes, Founder and Executive Director of DCM Group.
Participants included:
- Professor The Hon Greg Hunt;
- Anne McCormack, CEO of mecwacare;
- Nathan Cockerill, CEO of Keyton;
- Michelle Bruggeman, COO of Levande;
- Bronwyn Perry, Executive Director, Strategic Communications & Silverchain Foundation at Silverchain Group; and
- Paul Wilson, Co-Founder and CEO of Lumin.
