Home and community care sector needs to collaborate and work with Government on new program and pricing: Australian Unity’s Prue Bowden

With 18 months until the scheduled start of the new home care program and independent pricing, now is the time for providers to collaborate and work in partnership with government to make sure lived experiences and operational and care insights inform the detailed design of the Support at Home program, says Australian Unity’s Group Executive for Home Health Prue Bowden.

“Getting the price settings right is critical, so that providers can operate sustainable businesses and to cover the real costs of delivering quality care in geographically dispersed communities. This, while also having enough capacity to continue to innovate in how that care is delivered,” she told SATURDAY.

If prices are set too low, providers will not have the capacity to create the cultural and operational conditions needed to compete in a contested markets, or be able to attract and retain a skilled and stable workforce, Prue warns.

“The price has to accept and accommodate competition noting that there is a very different real price in the market for healthcare workers, so it needs to have enough flex for providers to be able to attract and retain an appropriately skilled workforce.”

The new Support at Home program also needs to consider the changing acuity of the older Australians and the need for providers to partner together to deliver a full suite of care services.

“Unlike the NDIS, the acuity of the ageing client shifts more rapidly – so making sure that the new Support at Home model is tuned in to the critical care partnering requirements for an ageing customer is so important.” “We also need to consider how in the future in a contested market, multi-service providers will actually work, and ensure the system continues to see the ‘whole person’, which is at the crux of quality person-centred care.” “I think a single scheme is a positive development for the sector, but we need to make sure that one scheme is attending to all of the lived realities of running these sorts of human services operations. This includes delivering in thin markets in regional and remote communities, for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and those from a CALD background. “ “In these dynamically changing times, and particularly for community and home care given the scale of the reforms proposed, it absolutely makes sense that providers start to collaborate much more and bring a very united voice and positioning to help government get these settings right.” “Positive intention, but very active voices from all stakeholders are needed to get this design right.”

Read our full story with Prue in this week’s issue of SATURDAY, out Saturday 4 March. Subscribe here.