Fed: Govt promises shorter queues after bed crackdown
By Sandra O'Malley
CANBERRA, April 2 AAP - The federal government is promising shorter queues for agedcare beds after its crackdown on the problem known as phantom beds.
A recalcitrant NSW aged care provider has had its licence for 68 unused beds revokedunder tougher government monitoring, instituted by new Ageing Minister Kevin Andrews.
Phantom beds are so-called because a nursing home owner has not turned its federalgovernment licence into a real bed in a stipulated two-year period.
Mr Andrews said the crackdown would help ease the shortage of aged care beds becauserevoked licences would be reallocated to new providers in the same region.
"These were beds that simply weren't being built at all, so we're going to actuallymake queues shorter," he told ABC radio.
A Department of Health and Ageing review earlier this year found 2,816 phantom bedsout of a total of 13,300 that have been allocated but were not in service.
Apart from the 68 bed licences already revoked, Mr Andrews said today that hundredsmore were at risk.
A departmental investigation found that 13 allocations - consisting of 326 beds - wereclassed as high risk.
"The department is concerned about whether those beds will become operational," Mr Andrews said.
"The department will be writing to these providers asking them to give reasons whyit should not revoke the bed licences.
"If their reasons are not satisfactory, those licences will be revoked."
Another 495 beds are considered at a medium risk of not coming online, while 1,787beds are a low risk.
Opposition ageing spokesman Anthony Albanese said the government had failed to acton the problem for so long that more action was necessary.
"Our argument is simply that the allocation process isn't transparent and that's wherethe problems begins," he told ABC radio.
"Beds are allocated to providers without properly assessing their ability to actuallycreate what is an allocation into a bed for an elderly Australian."
Catholic Health Australia chief executive Francis Sullivan said the problem was partlycaused by the struggle faced by providers to build facilities.
"The government needs to come up with a better scheme in order that essential nursinghome beds and essential aged care beds are constructed," he told ABC radio.
AAP so/daw/hu/bwl
KEYWORD: AGED NIGHTLEAD
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