Westport Aged Care Investment Welcomed, But Every Community Deserves Access To Care
by Aged Care Association · SCOOPThe Aged Care Association (ACA) welcomes the Government's announcement of funding support for 24 additional aged residential care beds at O'Conor Home in Westport, but says the investment reinforces the need for a nationwide aged residential care infrastructure plan.
ACA Chief Executive Hon Tracey Martin says the announcement is welcome news for Westport and the Buller community.
"This is exactly the sort of investment we need. Older New Zealanders should be able to receive the care they need close to their families, friends and communities, and this funding will help make that possible for more people in Buller.
"But Westport is not alone. Communities across New Zealand are struggling to maintain or expand aged residential care, and places such as Wairoa and Reefton have no aged residential care facilities at all.
"Our election campaign, The Long Drive, highlighted the heartbreaking reality for families forced to travel hundreds of kilometres to visit loved ones because appropriate care is no longer available close to home.
"One of the stories we shared was from the West Coast, where a husband was making a 240-kilometre return journey twice a week to visit his wife in dementia care. That is why investment in local services matters so much."
Martin says the Government's decision to support O'Conor Home demonstrates the importance of recognising aged residential care as essential health infrastructure.
"We welcome the Ministers' recognition that investing in aged residential care also reduces pressure on hospitals and the wider health system. Aged care is health care, and it needs to be planned and funded accordingly.
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"But we cannot rely on individual communities securing one-off funding arrangements. We need a national plan that identifies where care is needed today, where demand will grow, and how we will ensure that capacity is available."
Martin says a dedicated aged residential care infrastructure grant fund remains one of ACA's key priorities.
"There are existing facilities where targeted capital investment could bring standard, non-premium beds back into service relatively quickly. We should be doing that now, while also progressing the wider funding and structural reforms proposed by the Ministerial Advisory Group.
"The Regional Infrastructure Fund has helped make this project possible in Westport. What we are asking for is a dedicated, nationwide funding mechanism so that other communities have a clear pathway to securing the aged care infrastructure they need.
"The Long Drive was about making sure New Zealanders understood what was at stake when local aged care services disappear. Today's announcement shows what can be achieved when investment is made.
"Now we need to ensure that opportunity is available across the country.
"Every older New Zealander deserves the right care, in the right place, at the right time, close to home.
"The address may change, but the right to care does not."
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