The Aged Care Association is calling on the Government to follow the lead of Australia's Minister for Aged Care and immediately create a taskforce from the aged care sector to assist them in addressing the immediate need to release pressure on hospital beds.

"The Government's Nation-wide Service and Campus Planning report shows that without changes to the way we deliver safe and sustainable support to our growing senior community, by 2043, 9 out of 10 hospital beds will be filled by someone aged 65 or over," says Aged Care Association CE Tracey Martin. "If the Government would work with those of us in the sector currently delivering care, we can help them develop a practical, workable and sustainable care continuum that will release some of this pressure. However, to date our offers to co-design have been ignored or dismissed."

Ms Martin points to the work done by the Australian Minister for Aged Care, Anika Wells, who not only formed an Aged Care Taskforce but personally chaired it herself. "That is a Minister who has taken the bull by the horns, and working with those on the frontline of community and residential care, delivered their report in March this year to the Australian Government. That report means that once again the Australians are a step ahead of us towards delivering a sustainable aged care system that provides high quality care to all Australians now and into the future."

"We were very disappointed when the Associate Minister of Health with delegations for Aged Care declined our offer to travel to Australia in a cross-party delegation to gain a greater understanding of the changes implemented over the last two years by our Aussie neighbours," Tracey continues. "We know the government is cash-strapped so our Association had offered to finance the visit, because our members are passionate about ensuring that the seniors of today and tomorrow are not left without the appropriate level of care or support just because this government wants to keep them out of a hospital bed."

"We reiterate our concerns that Te Whatu Ora is designing a new care delivery model behind closed doors, with no provision for co-design." Ms Martin points out "The Ageing Well Team has been instructed to save 200,000 bed nights per year in our hospitals. We join with our home and community colleagues to once again offer to work collaboratively with the Minister to ensure that we design a system that works for our seniors and communities, not just for Te Whatu Ora and cost savings."

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