Commonwealth grants $60 million for new 150 bed aged care facility in Palmerston, NT – Ozcare announced as federal partner

Between ballooning waitlists for Support at Home packages and reports of seniors stuck in hospital, the government and sector has been contending with a need to dramatically respond to aged care demand. As Australia’s boomer cohort ages into care, the lift, advocates say, is monumental and now, if not years past. Into this heightening tension of increasing resource requirements, Aged Care Minister Rae has announced plans for a new 150 bed aged care facility in Palmerston, Northern Territory, with provider partner Ozcare.

State need

State health ministers have been vocal about mounting pressures within their hospital and aged care sectors. A public and protracted disagreement about hospital funding has now crossed into the new year. The NT government has publicly noted that within the state they have upwards of 80 seniors, meeting requirements for residential aged care (RAC), stuck in Territory hospitals with no destination after discharge. They have quantified this placement issue translates to a $40 million annual loss in their state healthcare budgets, with seniors unable to access timely residential care beds.

Federal announcement

Tuesday saw the first indication from Prime Minister Albanese that a formal decision had been made regarding definite next steps to meet the growing need in the Northern Territory, finally drawing the Expression of Interest process to a close. During his visit to the Top End, Albanese commented that the Commonwealth had decided on a provider to see through the new project build and take up the operational management once complete.

Minister Rae, Wednesday, provided further details. A Queensland based provider, Ozcare, had been chosen. He particularly commented on the lobbying efforts of federal members Minister Gosling, and Minsiter Scrymgour in advocating for increased and improved facilities for NT’s seniors. Minister Scrymgour, having come from a background in NT’s healthcare system has been publicly vocal about the need for the federal government to direct resources to the state’s health and aged care sectors.

“As quickly as possible”

Alongside Ozcare, Minister Rae confirmed that the NT state government will be involved to deliver the new facility in Palmerston. The potential range announced is for 120 to 150 beds, with Minister Rae noting the government is working “through the finer details” to determine final bed count outcome.

Regarding the choice of provider, Rae said, “Ozcare, who are a very established provider of facilities of this size, have been selected as the preferred provider. And now, we’ll quickly go through the grant process and get this on the move as quickly as possible.”

Delving further into the considerations, Minister Rae provided details into considerations when making their decision, with operational and cultural experience ranking highly. “They currently operate 19 residential aged care homes in Queensland, and they’ve got a very strong track record of delivering the complex construction that’s associated with a facility of this size.”

Speed has also been a consideration in the decision, “when you’re making a decision about a preferred provider, you have to balance a whole range of considerations. As I point out, one of those is a quite complex construction process that we want to roll out really quickly.” While indirectly, Rae also confirmed the challenging conditions of builds in Australia and the frustrating holdups that can result, expecting the provider partner to safeguard against them, “so we don’t want the construction of the facility to hold things up.”

Provider deliverables

While demand for public funding and aged care investment has increased, experts and advocates across sectors have been calling for strategic and thoughtful spending to balance tax-payer burdens across all portfolios.

Tellingly, a consideration in Ozcare winning the partnership was a willingness to financially contribute and manage the build, “they also have to make a contribution, in terms of the financial contribution to that and manage the project itself.”

Minister Rae also addressed the need for a provider with extensive First Nation care experience to lead the delivery of quality care for the new build, “we also want to make sure that we get the very best care for Territorians, as well as making sure that care, where appropriate, is culturally appropriate for people.”

“So those are the kinds of things that we’re weighing up, and on that basis, Ozcare were determined to be the best provider. They’ve got, as I said, 19 facilities, about five of which are a similar size to the one that we’re going to be building in Palmerston. And they also have a really strong track record of working First Nations communities to make sure that they can deliver culturally appropriate care.”

Federal government grants $60 million

Minister Rae was asked to respond to questions about construction blowout and cost breakdown. In response further details have emerged about the split in costs and contributions, particularly between the Federal and State governments.

“The major parts of the funding of this project are between the Northern Territory Government and the Federal Government”, Rae says.

“The Northern Territory Government are providing the land next to Palmerston Hospital for this to be established, and it’s the perfect spot for that to happen, close to healthcare facilities within that precinct already. And then, the Federal Government are putting in $60 million for the construction to get this project happening as quickly as possible.”

Acknowledging need              

Advocates in and outside of government have responded to the announcement, welcoming the move to meet growing need in the NT.

Minister Rae in discussing the $60 million grant and move to build the facility publicly acknowledged and linked it to government awareness of demand, “this project is focused on meeting that very real demand that we’ve got. We’ve got an ageing population, and we’ve got increasingly complex health needs across the community.”

“And our families – we all want to see the best possible outcomes for our loved ones, for our grandmas and grandpas. And so, that’s what this project is about, 120 to 150 beds that will be a significant uplift of capacity for high-quality aged care for the people of the Territory.”

Staffing

While advocates say that bed build announcements, and the funding to make it happen are critical steps, there is another side of this coin that must be addressed, staffing. Minister Rae was asked about this logistical hurdle in functionally landing the new 150 bed offering in Palmerston, and how he and the federal government were looking to solve staffing shortages.

He says, “since we were elected we’ve invested very heavily in skills and training across TAFE and universities, but importantly we’ve also invested $17 billion in the wages for aged care workers. So we are now re-attracting the very best people to want to come and work in the aged care sector.”

“We’re having people who are moving from other sectors into the aged care sector, people who always wanted to work in the aged care sector. It’s a very fulfilling space to work, particularly for medical professionals, because they have a continuity of care that they might not get in acute care environments. So we have people coming into the sector for the first time in a long time.”

However for the countless front-line staff that have weathered considerable challenge, particularly through providing care through the COVID years, the appropriate lift in pay, conditions and policy to safeguard work environment and prevent burnout, remains.

Minister Rae has acknowledged a gap in efforts directed to attract, retain and facilitate career growth in this vital sector, “I acknowledge that we’ve got work to do to make sure that we get up the supply of workers to meet demand. And of course, we’ll be continuing to invest in the Northern Territory to get the very best people into the sector to provide the very best care.”

When pressed about specifically staffing the new Palmerston facility, and whether any specific plans are being discussed to attract additional workers to the facility, Minister Rae did not directly respond, instead reasserting government investment in training and skills as a long-term plan.

Eagerly anticipated

State ministers, advocates and the locals of Palmerston, as well as those who call the NT home, many are eagerly following this announcement. From formal grant process to breaking ground, and finally to first resident received, each step is set to be keenly welcomed to meet the very real need of NT’s seniors.