Our very own member, Ross Smith, is Managing Director of Manor Court Aged Care. Ross has been the MD for 14 years so he has considerable knowledge of the industry and the challenges it is facing both now and in the next few years..
Manor Court
Back in 1972, Werribee had no aged care facility and members of Werribee Rotary decided to do something about that. The idea gained momentum. Land was purchased and public meetings were conducted which resulted in plans being prepared for the construction of a building to cater for 20 residents. The first residents moved into the facility in 1979. In the ensuing 30 years and over several expansion phases, Manor Court has grown to its current size of 100 beds.
Manor Court was named after Manor House Mansion built in 1889 by Percy Chirnside. It was destroyed by fire in 1966.
Some 2017-18 facts about Manor Court:
Revenue $7.5 million comprising:
71% Government funding.
27% from residents.
2% from other sources.
115 staff.
$18.5 million assets.
$8.5 million resident accommodation bonds.
$200,000 profit.
Aged Care Industry
While there has been some adverse publicity about the industry, Ross doesn't believe it is in crisis. But, he says there are some big problems looming based on the following predictions:
By 2020, the number of people over 60 years will exceed the number of children under 6 years.
The number of people over 65 years:
1950 - 700,000
2016 - 3,750,000
2050 - 7,900,000
The number of people over 80 years:
1950 - 100,000
2016 - 900,000
2050 - 2,800,000
Prior to 2000, the industry was dominated by churches and not-for-profits. 50-bed facilities were the standard size but most of them were struggling financially. In 2007, the Government dramatically increased funding which resulted in these facilities becoming highly profitable. However, this was the invitation for big for-profit organisations to enter the market. They gobbled up the smaller operators and constructed many new facilities with high-bed capacities.
In 2013, the Government made an about-turn decision to reduce aged-care funding in favour of programs such as NDIS. As a result, Manor Court's funding from 2013-2015 was only half of CPI and, in 2017-18, there was no increase at all. Currently, 40% of the aged care facilities in Australia are running at a loss, and it's getting worse.
The situation has been exacerbated by the fact that, over the past 18 months, there have been a number of stories about widespread abuse of residents. This culminated in the Federal Government announcing a Royal Commission on the industry.
Ross says that the number of abuse claims is very low as a percentage of the number of residents in care. 65% of the current complaints are financial abuse by families who have a vested interest in their parents income and assets. The level of physical assaults around the country by staff is low and continuing to trend downwards because all facilities regularly monitor staff performance and also conduct thorough checks of staff before they are employed.
Manor Court has regular audits conducted by the Accreditation Agency and they consistently achieve the maximum score of 44 out of 44. One of the biggest challenges for all facilities is the cost of staff which comprises 75% of the overall costs.
Ross says that the future of the industry rests with the creation of a long-term bi-partisan Government plan to support and promote the industry in a similar way to the NDIS program. This may result in a major revamp of the industry including things like:
Funding to meet the demand for another 80,000 beds by 2030.
The concept of a "Big Box Care" approach which would see large high-rise facilities being constructed.
Introducing Personal Care Assistants.
Establishing tax or levy to fund aged care - similar to MediCare.
Reduction in paperwork and compliance procedures to ensure that staff spend more time with the residents.
Better training of staff.
Increased wages for staff.
Thanks Ross for your in-depth analysis of the aged care industry. Let's hope things improve before we walk through the door.