Grey Power NZ Federation Inc. Aged Care Policy
Last reviewed 9/09/2014
Policy Mission
To work to ensure the safety and well-being of all older people in care, whether in their own homes or in care facilities.
Problems the policy addresses
- Lack of compliance of some DHBs with the national assessment for care.
- Inadequate funding for the aged care sector by some DHBs.
- Insufficient and inadequate personal and domestic care being provided to aged persons to fulfil their needs.
- Lack of follow-on care for aged persons following discharge from hospital.
- Elder abuse by families, caregivers and other responsible persons.
- Low wages paid to workers in the aged care sector.
- Inadequate response to concerns and complaints of those receiving care and their families.
Problem solutions
- DHBs regard the national standards for the aged as a minimum level of care (addresses problem 1).
- Funding provided by government for aged care is passed on to providers (addresses problem 2).
- DHBs and care providers fulfil the spirit, intent and practical applications of the legislation around aged care.
- All providers of care respect the dignity of those they serve.
- Standards of training, both academic and practical, for those engaged in providing care for aged persons are at professional levels (these 3 solutions address problem 3).
- Elder abuse is eradicated from our society (addresses problem 5).
- All aged care sector workers receive, as a minimum, the ‘Living Wage’ as defined by the Family Centre Policy Research Unit (addresses problem 6).
- An efficient and effective advocacy service is provided in cases of complaint or concerns from recipients and their families (addresses problem 7).
Policy goals
Grey Power will:
- Promote adoption of the recommendations of the “Caring Counts” report.
- Advocate for those requiring residential or home care to receive adequate, on-going assessment of their needs and the appropriate level of care (addresses solutions 2, 3 & 4).
- Encourage aged care providers to improve the standard of training for aged care workers (addresses solution 5).
- Work with other agencies to establish an Aged Care Commissioner to deal with elder abuse (addresses solution 6).
- Urge political parties to support the provision of a living wage for aged care workers (addresses solution 7).
- Document and report failures in the above areas to the appropriate authorities (addresses solutions 1-7).