Commonwealth funds local aged care beds |
Recent changes to funding arrangements mean nursing home beds in Gloucester Soldiers Memorial Hospital will now be supported by the Commonwealth Government.
Lower Mid North Coast Cluster Manager Ken Hampson said the development is primarily a behind the scenes administrative change and would not affect patient care or lead to major operational changes of the facility.
"Throughout Australia, the responsibility of funding for aged care places belongs to the Commonwealth, as agreed to by Health Ministers in 1992,"Mr Hampson said.
"Since that agreement, there has been a gradual process of transferring funding responsibility for aged care places to the Commonwealth.
"Gloucester Soldiers Memorial Hospital was one of the last facilities to still be providing aged care places within a traditional hospital setting using State Government funds.
"As of this week, the Commonwealth will now fund the 15 beds in the Hospitals Narraweema ward.
"This is good news for the Gloucester community and signals a real commitment from the Commonwealth to support these aged care places into the future.
"It will also bring funding for the Narraweema places in line with other aged care beds within the Gloucester District Health Service, which are also Commonwealth funded,"he said.
Mr Hampson said that under the new arrangements, aged care beds within the Hosptials Narraweena ward will now fall under Commonwealth Aged Care Facility Guidelines. These guidelines focus on making the living area as home-like as possible and providing the personal care required for older people, which is different from clinical or standard hospital guidelines.
"The move to Commonwealth funding for these 15 aged care places is a positive development, and provides a greater guarantee for the future of aged care places in Gloucester,"Mr Hampson said.
"It also means that while Gloucester Health Service will still be operating the facility, the Narraweema beds will be managed with an aged care focus for the residents."
(Sourced from Gloucester Advocate)
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