By Violet Li
As October is the month in Victoria for celebrating the seniors, Star News spoke to Cranbourne Gardens Ward and Tooradin Ward candidates about the future of aged care services in Casey.
Casey Council outsourced its community aged care services in 2022 in response to Commonwealth Reforms.
According to the City of Casey Living and Ageing Well Action Plan 2023-25, the current population ageing above 55 and over in Casey accounts for 22 per cent of the total, and it is forecast to increase by almost 60 per cent to 122,000 in 2041. The plan also notes that currently, over half of residents aged 55 and older report living with at least one chronic health condition.
Junction Village and coastal suburbs in Casey South have recorded a relatively high proportion of residents aged above 55 and over, the plan shows.
Cranbourne Gardens Ward candidate Tamas Kapitany believed healthcare should never have been privatised.
“It is a human right to be cared for in old age. Health services when privatised end up becoming more expensive and lesser quality service,” he said.
He said the council’s in-house aged care services should be reinstated.
“Council is there to serve the needs of the residents. It was never about having $20 million credits in bank accounts. So much money is wasted on excessive administration staff wages.”
Tooradin Ward candidate Ravneet Singh shared the situation of a senior resident he talked with.
He said the resident had met financial challenges and mobility challenges, and she had been looking for assistance for elderly care.
“I am committed to prioritising her interests and addressing issues faced by the elderly with diligence and professionalism,” Mr Singh said.
“My focus will be on advocating for better support systems, accessible services, and ensuring that those who have contributed so much to our community receive the care and assistance they deserve.
“Together, we can work towards improving the quality of life for our seniors.”
Tooradin candidate Anthony Tassone said the feedback he received regarding the outsourcing of aged care services by Casey Council was that their satisfaction with the service delivered was more dependent on the individual staff member rather than the employer.
“Now as before, residents mention ‘you get your good ones and your not-so-good ones like anything’,” he said.
“One noticeable difference in the service delivery is that prior to outsourcing, residents were offered a ‘heavy duty cleaning service’ up to twice a year for things such as window and gutter cleaning. Since out-sourcing, these types of services are not being offered which has negatively impacted residents and increased out-of-pocket costs to obtain from other private providers as they’re not capable of doing it themselves or have family to assist.”
Mr Tassone said outsourcing of services was not necessarily a bad thing, provided it was cost-effective and there was accountability of the service provider in meeting the expectations and objectives for residents and ongoing surveying of satisfaction for clients receiving the service.
He noticed a low awareness of services and support groups within Casey for seniors.
“We need to work with our older community to better communicate what support services are available in the City of Casey. Communication of available services will need to be in different forms, and not reliant on just the council website but other channels including family members and community groups who can share the information,” he said.
“Older residents want to see more public transport including bus services across the ward, but especially in Tooradin to be able to transit to places like Cranbourne which may host existing groups and services. This is something I am very supportive of.
“Support groups that can be localised, including in Tooradin would be of interest to those I have spoken with. Tooradin has the greatest proportion of their resident population aged 55 years and over in the Tooradin Ward.
“Having more public toilets available around parks and public spaces and better signage are raised when speaking with older residents and mentioned in the action plan. These are within the direct influence of the City of Casey and should be improved.”
Mr Tassone said as the ageing population in Casey was forecasted to increase by 60 per cent by 2041, the existing local health care and support services would not be able to meet demand if the council did not prepare adequately.
“If elected to council, I would be supportive of the implementation of the City of Casey Living and Ageing Well strategy and reviewing the outcomes to inform the ongoing work necessary,” he said.
Tooradin candidate Ali Yaghobi said most of the people he spoke to were not happy with outsourcing and wanted the in-house model back.
“Most people like to have programs to connect them with services and other people, being safe in the community and being able to actively participate in social and groups activities,” he said.
Mr Yaghobi said he would invest more in providing resources and support to service providers who worked with older people, resource the current Living and Ageing Well Action Plan, support community organisations such as Men’s Shed, Rotaries and clubs, support more age-friendly initiatives and intergenerational programs, and explore to find out ways to engage cleaning companies for some of the common services, including domestic cleaning, needed by senior people.
“I wouldn’t bring back the previous model but rather allocate more resources toward some of these initiatives,” he said.
“Casey will need to build their services from scratch – they will need to compete with other providers that have established services in the region.
“Workforce is an issue and council will need to compete for workers. They need to think about viability, like whether they can afford to have a workforce given that the council pays more than other organisations.
“They will need to build a clinical care model as this is a requirement under the new reforms.”
Cranbourne Gardens Ward candidate Michelle Crowther said she had heard concerns from many older residents regarding delays in aged care assessments and limited access to services since the outsourcing began.
“Many have expressed frustration over a lack of continuity in care, as they feel the current outsourced model lacks the personalised attention that an in-house service might provide,” she noted.
“Some would like to see the in-house model return, but they also want to improve communication and efficiency from the current providers.”
Ms Crowther said she understood that returning to the in-house model might not be feasible due to financial and workforce constraints, but the council could play a more active role in overseeing outsourced providers.
“This would involve implementing stricter performance benchmarks and improving communication between the council, service providers and the residents,” she said.
“I also propose to advocate to federal and state authorities to ensure that funding is aligned with our community’s growing aged care needs.”
Tooradin Ward candidate Andrew Gai said he had talked with the aged care advocate in the community, and he understood the concerns among the senior community.
“If we want to serve the community well, we need to listen to the experts who work in the area, people that have dedicated most of their life to this,” he said.
“What I found during my door knocking is it has been very nice to see a lot of our elderly people in their own homes and how happy they are in their own homes. The best we can do as a council is to make sure we have that option for them, for those who want to age in their own home, that that there is an option to support them.
“Accountability and transparency have been an issue for the aged care services in the community. Not to say that the administrators haven’t been doing a good job within their means, but trying to reach Casey in the last four years has been horrendous. It took away our responsibility to look after our elders.
“It has been years since the council outsourced the aged care service. We need to make sure that we review how that is going.”
Mr Gai said it was a shame that the people who built the city were not being looked after at the older stage of their lives.
“That’s something not acceptable. There are a few roles that the local government can play, which is engaging with our federal, representative to make sure that anything that this federal government decides to do, they take action on that seriously,” he said.
“But also at the local level, their providers need to be held accountable. If you are looking after our elders, we want you to do that properly.
“You need to recruit the right people and train them.”
