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Aged and disabled face service cuts

Posted on October 7, 2008, 5:05am and updated on October 7, 2008 at 8:10 pm

A Mount Gambier supported accommodation facility has threatened to cut services to its aged and disabled residents if the State Government fails to increase funding before December 1.

Lambert Village owner Alister Armstrong has pledged to cut services such as medication management and dispensing, incontinence management and liaising on residents’ behalf with doctors, government agencies and service providers.

According to Mr Armstrong all of these services are hugely time consuming for facility staff and are currently provided at no cost to residents or Government.

While not-for-profit supported accommodation facilities in Adelaide, who provide equivalent services, receive subsidies of up to $33 per resident per day, Lambert Village, a privately owned facility, receives only $6.24.

Unanimously backed by 34 other privately owned facilities in the State, Mr Armstrong has made his pledge.

“When the latest three-year Government service agreement was forced upon proprietors without negotiation, and at the same rates as 2003, we made the move to cut our services,” he said.

“At the same time government has been demanding us to upgrade our facilities — which has forced us to borrow heavily — without additional funds to service these loans or to service the added maintenance and running costs of these upgrades.

“The increased costs of living, food, electricity, wages and maintenance has seen the value of what little funding is available reduced by about 40pc over the past five years and despite our ongoing pleas for additional financial assistance, we have been completely ignored by the State Government.”

Lambert Village provides 24 hour, seven-days care for up to 40 residents, half of whom have dual diagnosis of a range of mental health, intellectual and physical disabilities and need specialist care from trained staff.

“The government should be responsible for these people, however they have irresponsibly ignored them and have just expected that facilities will increase services without additional resources to cope, because we have a heart for the people under our care,” Mr Armstrong said.

“The decision to cut some of our services was not taken lightly and is out of sheer desperation.”

Mr Armstrong said he had invested his own money into caring for residents and has taken out personal loans to upgrade the facility.

” I can’t go on like this, my head has to start ruling my heart now,” he said.

Mr Armstrong gathered the residents for a meeting on Friday to explain why he decided to cut certain services, but it was not an easy task.

“These are society’s most vulnerable people who become very upset and anxious when they are faced with uncertainty and I had to explain the situation very carefully,” he said.

Mr Armstrong and the other privately owned accommodation facilities are expecting nothing less than what has been offered to other not-for-profit facilities and are awaiting a response from Housing and Aged Minister Jennifer Rankine.

“She has promised to meet with us soon,” he said.

ANELIA BLACKIE

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One Response to “Aged and disabled face service cuts”

  1. Ebony Jackson on October 7th, 2008 5:49 pm 1

    Any story involving amazing people such as Mr Armstrong and his absolute passion about what he believes in, and his work with society’s most vulnerable, special people, is surely deserving of crucial support.

    Just how do government ministers and leaders manage to sleep at night? when facilites caring for people with significant needs fall over because of shameful ignorance, and inadequate funding…it goes on and on…nothing gets done!

    It really convinces me that people who have the power to change the outcome of crucial services…support those amazing individuals who care…really don’t give a rats arse…because this is all too hard…and would involve admitting major flaws in governments, and the ministers who are paid to actually work at making things work for the community.