Retirement villages: The fix hiding in plain sight for aged care crisis

Australia’s hospitals and aged care system are under extraordinary strain. Australia’s hospitals and aged care system are under extraordinary strain. A new PwC-RLC Retirement Census points to one part of the solution already hiding in plain sight. Retirement villages aren’t aged care. That’s precisely their value. They sit before residential aged care – helping older Australians stay independent, bringing support closer to home and easing pressure on hospitals and aged care. Hospitals are overflowing, ambulances are ramping and thousands of older Australians who are medically ready to leave remain stuck in hospital because the support they need isn’t available. Daniel Gannon, executive director of the Retirement Living Council About 154,000 older Australians are waiting for ongoing Support at Home funding, with the median wait from application to services starting now almost 300 days. We can debate hospital beds and aged care capacity, but those arguments mean very little to an older person who can’t get the support they need today. The more important question is how we help people stay healthier, independent and out of hospital or aged care for longer. That means prevention, early...