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An estimated 3300 people under the age of 60 live in nursing homes, which are not suited to their needs. Aged care facilities are not designed or resourced to facilitate the active involvement of young people with high clinical needs in everyday activities, or support their continued participation in the life of their community.

Individuals from this group present with factors that are multiple and overlap, and include severe to profound disability, trauma and loss and the associated health consequences, as well as barriers to mainstream housing, education, employment, social participation and access to services.

A Long Term Disability Care and Support Scheme would provide the structural change necessary to build an equitable service system. For the group that is young people in nursing homes the appropriate scheme would:

• Build capabilities and provide resources which will see people learn, work, engage and have a voice

• Provide security and enable proactive planning with knowledge that funding will be available rather than having people competing for rationed resources and on wait lists

• Be a positive investment in the lives of people with disability to enable them to realise their individual potential and contribute to the development of society

• Enable people with disability to maintain valued life roles such as mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, daughters and sons

• Have significant cost benefits through maximising abilities and independence and decreasing life time care costs

• Reduce the time, emotional and financial burden on families/carers which can contribute to their social exclusion

• Ensure equity in access to services

• Have significant cost benefits related to long stays in hospital (throughput) or hospital re-admissions (due to secondary complications)

• Reduce demand for nursing home beds.
  

The Summer Foundation position

The Summer Foundation urges the Australian Government to introduce a National Disability Long Term Care and Support Scheme that is comprehensive, targeted, inclusive and sustainable. The Government must also extend the Young People In Residential Aged Care program to ensure that current demand is met and the groundwork laid for future demand.

Click here to view the 28 April 2011 Summer Foundation submission in response to the Draft Report.