Allied health professionals will receive higher compensation in attending aged care residents. This is a part of the funding boost for mental healthcare and other related services.
Health Minister Greg Hunt said that the Commonwealth will be allocating additional funding of $132.2 million across the allied healthcare system.
The funding boost was announced in the Australian Government Implementation Progress Report on the Royal Commission to Aged Care Quality and Safety Report. It was immediately welcomed by Leading Aged Services Australia. However, it was dismissed by the Australian Nursing Midwifery Federation. The latter demanded a more concrete response to staffing ratios.
The recommendations included a plan to improve visitation access and fast deployment of infection-control experts in the future when deemed necessary.
A major funding item included in the recently released report was a $12.1m extension of Medicare services starting December 10 for reablement and additional compensation for allied health professionals.
50 percent of the existing Medicare payment will be allotted for delivered services in residential aged care facilities through allied health assessments. This just proves how the response is consolidated for the complex needs of RACFs.
For existing patients, benefits will remain the same though it will increase from five to ten in just a year.
Moreover, additional funding will be provided for allied health supporters that were affected by COVID-19 outbreaks.
Aged care residents will also be able to access sessions with a psychologist through the expanded Better Access scheme. This aims to support their mental health after the drastic impact of COVID-19.
It is expected that these measures will be in place until June 2022.
Minister Hunt said that the Government has been acting on all the recommendations. He ensured that the national plan for the COVID-19 response is in progress.
Final agreement on how to establish protocols is yet to be accomplished as the discussion between states and territories is underway.
Independent expert reviews are also processed and are expected to provide valuable input for the improvement of the COVID-19 response.
Also, Aged Care Minister Richard Colbeck asked aged care facilities to set their expectations on how the government should push through with the COVID support payment.
Infection control officers will be deployed across major facilities to prevent outbreaks from happening in the future.
Minister Colbeck said that while the National Government remains committed to the development of the COVID-19 response plan, states and territories should be able to manage quickly any events in the future.
