“Kevin Rudd has raided money put aside for new nursing home beds to pay for beds for long stay older patients in failed State and Territory public hospitals. These are the very patients trapped in public hospitals because they are waiting for nursing home beds,” said Shadow Minister for Ageing, Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells.
“Kevin Rudd is a modern day Sheriff of Nottingham who is robbing vulnerable aged and frail Australians and their families urgently waiting for a nursing home bed. Mr Rudd’s sleight of hand is to rebrand them as Long Stay Older Patients, known as LSOP’s in Kevin speak and pay the States and Territories to look after them,” said Senator Fierravanti-Wells.
In August 2007 Kevin Rudd said ‘The other part is you’ve got the Federal Government there not providing enough aged care beds and people are becoming bed blockers in acute hospital beds.’ Also in 2007 he promised a ‘new directions for frail and older Australians’ and ‘making the transition from hospital to Aged Care a priority area’.
Buried in Budget Paper No 2 2010-11 is the following ‘The Government will redirect funding of $276.4 million over three years from high care residential aged care places to the State and Territory governments to provide similar levels of care for Long Stay Older Places (LSOP) in public hospitals.’
“Kevin Rudd has used the vulnerable frail and aged Australians to buy off the States to get his way on his hospital plan. The shunting of money destined for the frail and aged in nursing homes to prop up incompetent State and Territory public hospitals surely has to be one of the lowest acts of this Government.
“Aged care is another casualty of Labor’s failure to take hard decisions and no serious reform.
“There was very little in the Budget for the care of older Australians and the crisis in the aged care sector has deepened as Kevin Rudd continues to neglect and ignore the need for structural reform,” said Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells.
“Older Australians needing a nursing home bed are now paying for Labor’s reckless spending and large debt. Kevin Rudd is more concerned about his scrambling to pay for his hospital plans and he has put action on aged care on hold.
“Aged care is in crisis and has been parked with the Productivity Commission that will not report till next year.
“Mr Rudd said he would stop the blame game but when older Australians can’t find a nursing home bed they will know who to blame,” said Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells.