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Minister investigates facility funding

Posted on November 30, 2008, 8:08am and updated on December 1, 2008 at 11:14 am

Lambert Village’s threat to cut services to its disabled and aged residents from Monday has been postponed to January 1.

The Mount Gambier private supported accommodation facility owner Alister Armstrong last month vowed to cut services from December 1 if the State Government failed to increase funding, but Housing and Ageing Minister Jennifer Rankine called for a postponement to investigate the matter.

“Ms Rankine requested by email that the initial date be extended to January 1,” Mr Armstrong said.

Mr Armstrong, along with 34 other private supported accommodation facilities across the state, pledged to cut services such as medication management and dispensing, incontinence management and liaising on residents’ behalf with doctors, government agencies and service providers as these services placed a burden on their restricted budgets.

This followed many years of failed requests to the State Government to bring funding in line with not-for-profit supported accommodation facilities, which receive subsidies of up to $33 per resident per day.

Facilities such as Lambert Village struggle on a budget of $6.24 per resident per day.

“I had no choice but to go along with Ms Rankine’s request and to work with the government to achieve an outcome for our residents and our facility,” Mr Armstrong told The Border Watch.

“I am hopeful that at long last the government will provide us with funding equal to the not-for-profit organisations doing the same work and that they will recognise the significant contribution that supported accommodation facilities make to this state.

“But if there is no progress before the new year, we will go ahead and cut services to our residents and we have clearly communicated our intention to Ms Rankine.”

Mr Armstrong described Ms Rankine’s request to postpone services as an effort from the government to “at long last show serious concern to alleviate the plight of a seriously under funded and disadvantaged sector dealing with marginalised and demanding members of the community”.

When the latest three-year government service agreement was “forced upon” the facilities “without negotiation”, it was the last straw after many years of failed requests for increased funding and the threat to cut services was made out of desperation.

The three-year agreement was at the same rate of funding as in 2003, while at the same time demanding facilities to upgrade without additional funds to service loans to do so or to service added maintenance and running costs.

“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,” Mr Armstrong said.

“We are expecting nothing less than what has been offered to other not-for-profit facilities.”

ANELIA BLACKIE

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