Caring for an elderly family member, and in some cases caring after two elderly parents can put enormous strains on the rest of the family, particularly where all the responsbility rests on one individual who is expected to be all things to all in their family.

We need to be aware that there are families who reach a stage where they simply cannot manage to look after an elderly parent or family member. In addition to providing rest homes and nursing homes we need to concentrate some of our resources on providing much needed resources to assist those unpaid family caregivers who reach the stage where they cannot cope by themselves. Such assistance will usually be far more cost effective than placing people in rest homes or nursing homes.

I’m tired of people taking about the Homes when the families aren’t doing their part either. As an owner myself, I agree with Catalyst. Operational cost is through the roof especially when the families don’t pay their portion. And what are we to do? Kick the resident out??? Then there would be talk about how Homes are wrong for kicking out seniors. SMH

Who wins????

FACT: Financial Assistance’s maximum payout for nursing home care is something like $4900 per month per person.

FACT: The cost to run a nursing home at the level deemed acceptable by the general person is about $8000 per person.

Thus, you have homes having to cut costs / take shortcuts / offer something slightly substandard simply because they don’t have the funds.

Until government is able to increase the benefit payable to nursing homes, which would require a change in policy, then you will continue to have the care standard that we have today. And we know that the government is not in a position to raise this benefit by $3000 per person.

This policy does not encourage the private investor because he quickly discovers that the cost of care exceeds that which government is prepared to pay. So the cycle continues.

Good luck on this Minister. The review is way overdue and I particularly applaud the consideration of the mentally and physically handicapped who after 21 have no options for residential care and are left with strapped families unable to provide adequate care either.