Jill Hall (Shortland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I join with the member for Dobell in commending all those organisations on the Central Coast. I know they are fine organisations and provide a valuable service in the community we both represent.

I recently looked at the aged care needs of the area that the member for Dobell and I represent when I was putting in a submission to the aged care approvals round. I was overwhelmed with what came out when I did my research. The current system for approving aged care beds has led to a massive increase in the number of phantom beds, as there is no transparency or accountability built into the system. I have been calling on the government to build that into the system for some period of time. The planning process for awarding beds is flawed and, until the government goes back and reviews the whole system, it will not improve. Phantom beds will continue to exist throughout Australia.

I also call on the government to put more funding into the provision of aged care beds, as there is a chronic shortage—and it is becoming worse. Shortland is the 10th oldest electorate in Australia, so you can look at it and see how this shortage is impacting. It has been identified that there is a shortage of 5,489 aged care beds Australia-wide, which represents a three per cent shortage. New South Wales has a 2,511-bed shortage, which represents 45.7 per cent of the overall shortage.

The situation on the Central Coast is drastic, with a shortage of 644 aged care beds, which represents—and this is the figure to listen to—25.6 per cent of the overall shortage in New South Wales. In the Hunter, there is a shortage of 377 aged care beds, which represents 15 per cent of the state’s shortage. Those two areas account for over 40 per cent of the aged care bed shortage throughout the state. The Central Coast rates as the third worst area in New South Wales. These figures alone justify an urgent allocation of aged care beds and packages to that region.

The problems on the Central Coast and in the Hunter have been exacerbated—particularly in the Shortland electorate—by geographical factors. One of these factors is a lake that separates Charlton and Shortland—and Charlton is the Lake Macquarie area that has the majority of aged care beds. The majority of the Central Coast’s aged care beds are located in its southern part. The Central Coast also has a poor transport system, and the relatives of those who live in these facilities are themselves often frail and aged.

Of the HACC services available in the region that I represent, 90 per cent are provided to 10 per cent of that region’s clients. So many people are missing out on those drastically needed services. As for psychogeriatric beds in the Shortland electorate, there are none. In fact, there are no phychogeriatric beds anywhere on the Central Coast. That is an absolute disgrace and the government stands condemned for it.

There are enormous socioeconomic factors. The electorate that I represent in this parliament is the 27th lowest in Australia in terms of family income, with the median income being over $160 less than the Australian average. I call on the government to address this issue as a matter of urgency. We need more dementia-specific beds, more aged care packages and more high-care and low-care beds in residential facilities—not only in the Shortland electorate but throughout Australia. This is a chronic shortage. This shortage has been allowed to develop under the watch of this government and it is about time that the government addressed it—because it is frail aged Australians who are being affected. (Time expired)