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NZ Parliament Inquiry into the aged care sectors current and future capacitycapacity to support people experiencing neurological cognitive disorders

Posted in Government, National; Tagged Housing, Health, Government; Posted 18 months ago by Samuel Less than a minute to read

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To: Health Select Committee
Date: August 2024

 

Purpose

This submission aims to provide a disability perspective, emphasizing the critical need for sufficient resources and a shift towards a non-disabling society to support older disabled people. It also seeks to highlight concerns about funding sustainability, potential for abuse, and the complexities of transitioning between disability support systems.

Summary of DPA submission

DPA agrees that aged care and support services must be appropriate and responsive to individual needs, and that central and local government should collaborate to develop age-friendly communities. DPA supports adequate government funding for residential/hospital level care and respite care options.
 
However, DPA expresses deep concern about the sustainability of funding for ageing and disability support, noting that current spending cuts undermine progress. DPA highlights the potential for abuse and neglect in health-based mass residential settings, referencing the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care's Whanaketia report. DPA members shared anxieties about men with dementia wandering into unlocked rooms in rest homes, pointing to a lack of staffing and appropriate care within the system for people with severe dementia. DPA also points out inconsistencies for disabled people transitioning between the Ministry of Disabled People/MSD and Ministry of Health disability support systems at age 65, and challenges for ACC clients entering the age-related system.
 
DPA also stresses the need for more universal, individualized funding models for older people, including those with neurological conditions. DPA suggests using legal researcher Warren Forster's report on 'Removing Disabling Experiences' as a basis for developing a new aged care disability support funding system, co-designed with older people, disabled people, and other stakeholders.
 
Key Recommendation:
DPA recommends that a new model of dementia care and a proper continuum of care is developed spanning from community-based through to residential options.
 
Supporting Statement 1:
At the very high needs end, there will be a requirement for more dementia care units and residential homes to be established around the country to care for people with severe dementia, especially those prone to wander and requiring supervised 24-hour support.
 
Supporting Statement 2:
DPA heard from some older disabled women living in rest homes about the anxiety they had experienced when, for example, men with dementia had wandered into their unlocked rooms, which signalled to them the lack of staffing and appropriate care available within the system.

 

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DPA Submission 2408 NZ Parliament Inquiry into the aged care sectors current and future capacity capacity to support people experiencing neurological cognitive disorders(DOCX)

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