Home Care Packages Waiting Times

604 Mr PICTON (Kaurna) (13 February 2018). What advocacy has the minister undertaken to address the waiting times for home-care packages?

The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN (Stuart—Minister for Energy and Mining): The Minister for Health and Wellbeing has been advised:

The wait list for home-care packages is managed by the Commonwealth Department of Health through the administration of the My Aged Care referral pathway and Aged Care Assessment program.

The state government does not provide home-care packages in metropolitan areas. As a result, the minister does not have visibility of waiting times for home-care packages for clients in metropolitan Adelaide as these are managed by the Commonwealth Government.

Country Health SA Local Health Network is a large provider of Commonwealth Home Care Packages with 597 packages in operation as at 31 December 2018, across six regional locations.

The issue of aged care package waiting times is discussed by Country Health at its monthly meetings with the Commonwealth Department of Health South Australian delegates from Country Health's perspective as a provider.

As a service provider, Country Health has no control over the number of clients on the national wait list for home-care packages, nor do they have visibility of those on the national wait list.