MEDIA RELEASE
Friday 15th October 2010

A Future Vision of Dignity and Compassion

“NZCCSS carries the vision for an aged care sector that puts older people at the centre and seeks to ensure that they can live with dignity and enjoy fulfilled lives, offering a range of alternative models of support and care, ” says Gillian Bremner, from the New Zealand Council of Christian Social Services (NZCCSS). “We welcome the affirmation of this vision for future services contained in the Greens, Labour Party and Grey Power report entitled ‘A Report into Aged Care’ released today.”

The NZCCSS future vision is based in the values of the Christian tradition, committed to supporting the most vulnerable and advocating for fairness in access to services. Church based social services are innovators and leaders in developing models of home support, day and community based services and re-thinking ways of providing residential care and supported living.

All those involved in the sector - older people themselves, service providers, workers, funders and policy makers need to find ways to work collaboratively across all areas of services to further the vision of joined up and people-centred services.

“Our members are all not-for-profit organisations and face enormous costs pressures in a funding system that does not recognise the full costs of providing services,” says Gillian Bremner, NZCCSS Services for Older People Policy Group member. “The recent Grant Thornton Aged Residential Care Review has helped greatly to give a realistic cost analysis for that part of the sector. In planning and developing a future vision of flexible service models across the whole range of needs of older people whether it be community based services, residential care or affordable low-cost supported housing, the Government must be willing to work with the sector to design funding models that work for all those involved – clients, providers and funders.”

Current government service models are not adequate to meet future needs and there are real risks that particularly older people with few assets and low incomes will not have access to the support they need. “If we work together now, build on the good work being done in developing new service models, up-skilling the workforce, improving consistency of needs assessments, auditing and sector standards through good investment, then we can avoid a future service crisis,” commented Gillian Bremner.

ENDS

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