Western Australia Premier Roger Cook has met with the Federal Minister for Health, Disability and Ageing, Mark Butler. and the Federal Minister for Aged Care. Sam Rae, on Tuesday (26 August), seeking a "fair share" of Home Care Packages for his state.

The dash across the country comes as Western Australia grapples with record levels of ambulance ramping. Total hours ramped exceeded 7,000 for the first time in July, a record high.  

Aged care bed shortages are also keeping older West Australians in hospital long after they are well enough to be discharged. Earlier this month, we reported there were more than 250 hospital patients in Western Australia waiting for an aged care bed.

The WA Premier has blamed the state's healthcare problems on the Federal Government's lack of support for residential aged care and home care in Western Australia.

He argues the state only receives 7.7% of Home Care Package funding, but has more than 10% of the nation’s older population.

However, the Federal Government said the state's funding is proportional to its total population. Western Australia also receives about 17% of Federal Government grants to build new aged care homes in regional and remote areas.

While there was no formal announcement after the meeting, Minister Rae committed to visiting Western Australia by mid-September to see the issues for himself.

The Labor Government in Western Australia was returned to power in March with an 11-seat majority. During the election campaign, the party pledged $140 million worth of promises for the aged care sector.