Australia’s youth now crowding old age centres

SYDNEY - The number of young people compelled to live in old age nursing homes is on the rise in Australia, five years after the government called for finding an alternative accommodation for the disabled and the vulnerable.

This development has made support groups call for a major overhaul of the disabled care sector to help it cope with the influx of young people.

A senate committee has heard that the number of nursing home residents - aged under 45 - has grown by 628 since August 2006, when the John Howard government promised to get 689 young people out of the system, The Australian reported.

A May 2010 review by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare found only 163 people in old age centres had been moved to alternative accommodation as a result of the $244 million initiative to get young people out of such facilities.

“The government is way behind schedule on assisting young people out of residential aged care,” said Senator Mitch Fifield, the opposition coalition’s disabilities spokesman.

“Living in an age-care facility can be socially isolating for young people, as they are cut off from other people of their age. They deserve the same chances to socialise and participate in their community as their peers.”

“The programme is way behind and more than 200 extra young people under 50 are being admitted to aged care facilities each year.”

“This comes on top of the government’s failure to deliver even half of the supported accommodation places it promised to people with disability,” Fifield said.

According to Bronwyn Morkham, director of the Young People in Nursing Homes, more was required to be done by state and federal governments.

“What we are asking for is where the system should be going anyway, we have a 19th century system trying to deliver 21st century responses,” she said.

Morkham said depression and isolation were major issues for young people living in care.

She said young people, who ended up living in nursing homes, typically had a progressive illness such as multiple sclerosis or had suffered a serious accident.

And nursing homes were not able to provide the sort of support, care and rehabilitation needed in such circumstances.

“A younger person in these homes actually sees people die around them and that can be very hard for them too, as they become attached to people,” Morkham said.

A draft Productivity Commission report has warned the ageing of Australia’s baby boomers meant demand for both old age care and in-home community care was going to skyrocket in the coming decade.