ACEM urges other parties contesting the 2022 federal election to immediately announce their plans for addressing Australia’s neglected aged care healthcare sector and urges Labor to add increased access to primary care for RACF residents to their policy platform.
For the 2022 federal election, ACEM is advocating for, and will publicly support investment and policies that deliver urgent and significant improvements to the aged care healthcare sector. Particularly, ACEM is calling for parties to:
- Fund increased access to clinically trained staff and appropriate systems in residential aged care facilities (RACFs), including increasing care minutes by registered nurses, and the use of nurse practitioners.
- Increase Medicare rebates for Level C and D consultations by 10% to better recognise and support complex care.
- Introduce post-hospitalisation GP visits, seven days after any unplanned hospital admission.
- Fund rebates and services to improve the documentation and implementation of consumer preferences for care (for instance advanced care planning) in RACFs.
- Improve funding for access to high quality palliative care services to be provided both in RACFs and via community programs.
- Fund programs to better integrate IT services such as MyHealthRecord and MyAgedCare.
ACEM President Dr Clare Skinner said, “We are pleased to see that Labor are recognising the value and need in prioritising the provision of high quality and readily available primary healthcare for aged persons. Greater investment in community-based care for older people in Australia means that when an older person requires acute care in an emergency department, they can access it faster.”
“We urge other parties contesting the 2022 federal election to reveal their plans for addressing this issue to ensure all Australians get the healthcare they need, where they need it – whatever their age.”
Background:
ACEM is the peak body for emergency medicine in Australia and New Zealand, responsible for training emergency physicians and advancement of professional standards. www.acem.org.au
Media Contact:
Melissa Howard [email protected] + 61 427 621 857
ACEM’s 2022 federal election priorities:
For the 2022 Federal Election, ACEM is advocating for federal investment and policies that will deliver improvements in three areas of federal responsibility for healthcare that can lead to dangerous emergency department overcrowding, acute hospital access block and ambulance ramping.
ACEM’s three key areas of focus are:
- Better healthcare for older persons in residential aged care.
- Better access to specialist accommodation and services through the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) for people with disability.
- Better regional, rural and remote healthcare.
Systemic issues and shortcomings in these areas significantly impact the abilities of hospital emergency departments, and the staff who work in them, to treat people in a timely and effective manner and leads to poorer outcomes – including death.
Read more about ACEM’s 2022 Federal Election Priorities.