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Demand for health care services to meet the needs of older Australians is growing rapidly. Between 2010 and 2050, the number of older people (65-84 years) will more than double, from 2.6 million to 6.3 million, and the number of very old (85 and over) will more than quadruple, from 0.4 million to 1.8 million.

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Future generations of older people are likely to have more complex health needs and expect a higher quality and level of service. There will be an increasing preference by older Australians to live and be cared for in the community wherever possible and for as long as possible. The demand for quality dementia care in all settings will increase.

Many older Australians are transferred into residential aged care facilities from hospital after a long and complex hospital admission, and have multiple and complex health care needs that require ongoing medical care. This trend will continue.

Older Australians living in residential aged care deserve quality medical and palliative care.

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The next Government’s investment in the residential aged care sector must ensure that the sector can provide the level and quality of infrastructure and services to meet the needs of an ageing population. Properly funded care in the appropriate setting will help provide older Australians with quality care as they reach the end of their lives.

One of the critical requirements for quality care for older Australians is timely access to a doctor. With the number of aged care places set to double by 2030, the next Government must put policies in place that guarantee access to an appropriate level of medical services for those being cared for in aged care facilities.

Adequate resourcing of the aged care sector and sub-acute and rehabilitation services for older people will also improve care of older Australians and have the added bonus of freeing up acute care beds.

Nursing care in the residential aged care sector will remain inadequate while there is a significant difference in nursing wages between the acute and aged care sectors.

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The next Government must:

• Develop a specific aged care accreditation standard for medical care to ensure that access to medical care is monitored and scrutinised under aged care accreditation arrangements like other important quality, service and care arrangements;
• Provide funding to encourage arrangements between aged care providers and doctors to ensure ongoing access to medical care in residential aged care;
• Increase MBS rebates for services provided by doctors and practice nurses to reflect the time and complexity of providing ongoing medical care to older people in aged care facilities and in the community;
• Ensure that aged care providers make appropriate facilities available – including adequately-equipped clinical treatment areas that afford patient privacy, and information technology to enable access to medical records and improve medication management;
• Ensure that aged care facilities provide sufficient numbers of registered nurses to monitor, assess, and care for residents, and support the medical care provided by doctors; and
• Introduce sub-acute beds for rehabilitation and convalescence so that there are appropriate services for people who leave hospital but need further care

* For a full pdf version of the Key Health Issues for the 2010 Federal Election click here