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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2001 Week 8 Hansard (9 August) . . Page.. 2985 ..

Aged care facilities

(Question No 391)

Mr Stanhope asked the Minister for Health, Housing and Community Services, upon notice:

In relation to aged care facilities in the ACT:

(1) How many places in the (a) Canberra Hospital, (b) Calvary Hospital or (c) other facility in the ACT are available for aged persons unable to be cared for at home.

(2) How many of these places are available for aged persons suffering from dementia.

(3) What is the cost to the aged person for accessing these facilities?

(4) What procedures are in place for transferring aged persons between the facilities.

(5) What procedures are in place for transferring aged persons between ACT facilities and similar facilities in New South Wales?

Mr Moore: The answer to the member's question is:

(l a) The Canberra Hospital (TCH) has 22 designated specialist beds in the Acute Care of the Elderly (ACE) Ward, Aged Care Unit for people over the age of 75 years.

TCH is an acute care teaching hospital and does not have specific respite care beds. On occasions situations arise where elderly patients present to the Emergency Department who do not ;equire admission for medical reasons, but cannot be cared for at home due to perceived risk to themselves or others. Where no alternative exists these patients are admitted to the ACE or other wards of the hospital while other accommodation and support options are explored.

Some patients are able to return home with the asgistance of a Community Aged Care Package.

If an elderly patient does not have a clinical condition requiring admission and if they can be maintained at home with nursing care and home help services a referral is made to Community Care (CC) Link in ACT Community Care.

(lb) As a general rule Calvary hospital does not admit patients if it is solely for the purpose of awaiting an aged care bed. The hospital will admit if there is a medical or surgical reason for the admission. However, Calvary will not discharge a patient if they were thought to be at risk if they were to go home or if they have insufficient services in place to go home to.

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