news
scoping out a site for the facility.
Chief executive Russell Bricknell said
Challenger Precinct land had been
earmarked for seniors’ accommodation,
and provided an opportunity to meet the
needs of the city’s ageing population.
“We’ve been providing care, support
and retirement living options for seniors in
Rockingham for almost 25 years, so we are
thrilled to continue our relationship with
the local community and plan a new era of
accommodation and services,” he said. “Our philosophy of putting people first
and delivering not-for-profit care and
support designed specifically for individuals
is very much in line with the City of
Rockingham’s vision for the Challenger
Precinct Redevelopment.
“This project is about meeting
future needs and coming up with
design and construction solutions that
put Rockingham at the forefront of
contemporary accommodation for seniors,
so we intend to take the time necessary
to properly plan and engage with local
representatives and residents.
“Delivering accommodation choices
that are fully integrated into the overall
Challenger Precinct and can be built with
minimum disruption to existing residents
and the surrounding community are key
drivers for Baptistcare for this project.”
Bricknell said project planning was in
its early stages, and the company would
consult with council and local communities
over the coming months.
Baptistcare anticipates that the project
will have a staged rollout over the next
10 years. ■
demand for emergency respite, while
88 per cent said there was very high
demand for pre-planned respite.
Chief executive Ara Cresswell said
more types of respite care need to be
made available, including “cottage style
accommodation” for overnight and
weekend stays.
“We have conducted a national survey
of organisations that help carers access
respite services, which shows an increasing
difficulty for carers to find respite care
when they need a break from the demands
of providing around the clock care, or
even to deal with their own health or other
family issues,” she said.
“Caring for the aged can be an
exhausting, time-consuming and
emotionally wearing task – especially for
those carers who are aged themselves.
“For many, the opportunity to take a
break is vital to their ability to continue
providing care at home. They will also need
to find replacement care for the person
they care for if they become ill themselves
or have other demands which need
attention and take them away from home.
“If a carer needs to be away for
more than a night or two, respite
accommodation for those they care for
in an aged residential care facility is often
their only option.” According to Deloitte Access Economics,
the free care provided by family and
friends is worth more than $60 billion
a year.
The 2017 Aged Care Legislated Review
recommended that the government
review current respite arrangements to
ensure there is both adequate supply
and equal access.
“We would expect that the outcomes of
our survey be taken into account in that
review,” she said.
“Daily subsidies paid to residential aged
care providers by the government are
much higher for permanent residents
and for residents convalescing after an
illness or operation than for respite care,
so there is a disincentive to make short-
term stays available for respite care; the
difference is even sharper for people with
high care needs, including people with
advanced dementia.
“As well as higher subsidies to encourage
aged care providers to offer respite, our
research indicates a high, unfulfilled
demand for overnight and weekend
respite, particularly in cottage-style
accommodation.
“Cottage-style respite is ideal because
it offers home-like surroundings and can
feel more like a holiday for the per son with
care needs.” ■
Putting people first
Green light for ‘new era’
of senior accommodation
and services.
R
ockingham in Western Australia
will soon be home to a Baptistcare
accommodation facility for seniors,
to be built as part of the Challenger
Precinct Redevelopment.
The city has given permission for the
home care provider to commence the
project, and Baptistcare is currently
Shortage in respite
care gets worse
More types of respite care
need to be made available,
peak body says.
C
arers Australia has called on the
government to increase subsidies
for respite care, after a serious
shortage was uncovered in residential aged
care facilities.
New reports by the organisation
found that 35 per cent of carers said
they went to great lengths to find respite
accommodation but were only successful
some of the time. In addition, 74 per cent
of respondents said there was very high
agedcareinsite.com.au
5