1 December 2020
The Australian Government will invest a further $132.2 million in its response to the Aged Care Royal Commission’s recommendations on COVID-19.
The Government accepted and is acting on all six recommendations from the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety as previously announced in October 2020.
The Government says the $132.2 million package includes $63.3 million for a range of Medical Benefits Schedule (MBS) measures including mental and allied health support, and additional allied health group services, $57.8 million to fund jurisdictions to support Infection Prevention and Control training within facilities and a further $11.1 million toward a Serious Incident Response Scheme.
Back in October, the ANMF welcomed the Aged Care Royal Commission’s six recommendations “which the Morrison Government must implement immediately to manage COVID-19 in aged care”.
However, the ANMF said it didn’t go far enough to protect older Australians living in nursing homes.
Whilst the ‘Aged Care and COVID-19: a special report’ found that ‘COVID-19 is a public health crisis that has disproportionately affected aged care in Australia’, the ANMF is disappointed and concerned it has failed to address the core staffing problems of dangerously inadequate levels of qualified nurses and care staff with the right skills mix and the tragic consequences of understaffing on elderly residents.
“We welcome the recommendation for immediate additional funding but reiterate the need for greater transparency for any additional Government funding, because aged care providers must be held accountable - and actually use the money for its intended purpose of employing additional nurses and carers for the depleted sector,’’ ANMF Federal Secretary Annie Butler said.
For the full Government response to the COVID-19 recommendations, click
here.