Mayo MP Rebekha Sharkie has welcomed the release of 20,000 Aged Care Home Care Packages but says it’s nowhere near enough.

The federal government announced the additional packages this week following pressure by the Crossbench and Opposition.

Ms Sharkie says it’s a start, but a fraction of what’s required to help the thousands of older Australians waiting for help at home.

Government figures show that on June 30, there were 108,000 people waiting on packages at their approved level.

That’s in addition to the more than120,000 people who are still waiting to be assessed, according to Ms Sharkie.

“The release of these 20,000 places is the bare minimum of what’s needed to support our ageing Australians.

“We now have almost 230,000 people waiting for the help they need. They’re either waiting to be assessed or waiting on the package at their approved level. It’s just not good enough.

“We should be looking after older Australians. They should not be waiting months for assessment. They should not be waiting years for their packages. Once assessment is complete, approved level packages should be delivered within 30 days. Right now, we have people waiting more than a year.

“The unacceptable wait times have a devastating impact on older Australians, their families and the State and Territory hospital systems. People are dying on these wait lists. People are deteriorating on these wait lists. It’s beyond sad and it’s preventable.”

Ms Sharkie has also accused the federal government of treating rural and regional residents like second-class citizens when it comes to their health.

She is calling for urgent action on the unreasonable inequality in spending on healthcare.

Latest figures from the National Rural Health Alliance show the gap in health spending between metropolitan and rural and regional residents is growing at an unacceptable rate.

The Alliance reports a total expenditure gap in 2023-24 of $8.35 billion. That equates to $1090.47 per person per year, compared with a spending gap of $848.02 in 2020-21.

That means rural and regional residents are comparatively more than $200 worse off than they were three years ago in relation to health spending.

Ms Sharkie says the Alliance report highlights the need for a different approach to healthcare including combining a locally trained on-ground workforce with fly-in, fly-out services supported by virtual models of service delivery. Outcomes may also be improved by leadership and service coordination at a regional level. 

The funding deficit is most prominent in areas including hospital care, primary health care, pharmaceuticals, aged care and NDIS services.