Findings from the first comprehensive national census of
Australia's Community Aged Care Packages (CACP) are released today
in a report published by the Australian Institute of Health and
Welfare.
Community Aged Care Package Census 2002, conducted by
AIHW on behalf of the Australian Government Department of Health
and Ageing over seven consecutive days in September/October 2002,
presents data on nearly 26,500 CACP recipients, the types and
amounts of assistance they received and providers of CACP
assistance.
The CACP program aims to provide a coordinated package of
community care services to frail or disabled older people who
require complex care and would otherwise be eligible for at least
low level residential care.
Ann Peut, Head of the AIHW's Ageing and Aged Care Unit, said the
census gathered information on care recipients' need for
assistance, availability of regular care from family and friends
and the services provided through the Program.
'We found that 69% needed help with mobility, 64% reported at
least a severe limitation in self-care activities, such as eating,
showering and dressing, 14% reported a severe or profound
communication limitation and 18% had been diagnosed with
dementia.
'While just over half had carers to help them, 44% (nearly
11,000 people) did not.'
Ms Peut said that the snapshot the census provides for this
one-week period showed the types of assistance most commonly
provided by the CACP Program were domestic assistance (83%), social
support (60%) and personal care (54%).
'But bearing in mind that the average age of care recipients was
82 for women and 80 for men, with 61% living alone, this is not
unexpected.'
The census also showed that Indigenous care recipients had a
younger age profile than non-Indigenous recipients with 40% aged 70
years and older, compared to 88%.
'On average recipients received six hours of assistance during
this one-week census period, with 10% receiving more than 10 hours,
and most (65%) were provided with three to five types of
assistance.
'These figures may well underestimate the full range of
assistance provided, as some recipients wouldn't receive all types
of service on a weekly basis,' Ms Peut noted.
The range of services available through the program includes
personal care such as washing or dressing, domestic help, preparing
or eating meals, social support, respite care, home maintenance,
rehabilitation support, assistance with transport, and assistance
with short term illness, all coordinated by a care manager, but
does not extend to home nursing or allied health services which can
be accessed through other community care programs such as HACC.
6 May 2004
Further information: Ms Ann Peut, AIHW, tel. 02
6244 1108, or mobile
0419 296 053.
For media copies of the report: Publications
Officer, AIHW, tel. 02 6244 1032
Availability: Check the AIHW
Publications Catalogue for availability of Community Aged
Care Packages Census 2002 - May 2004.