It is no secret that as the years go by, Australia is becoming an older nation. As we continue to live longer, many more of us will require assisted living towards the end of our lives.
The ultimate goal of the Royal Commission into Aged Care is to find strategies that improve the health and wellbeing of the elderly relying on residential assisted living. The evidence is overwhelming that the baseline of assisted living for the aged is well below standards most Australians would accept for themselves or their loved ones.
The design of Sorrento on the Bay responds directly to the increased attention on aged care and desire to create higher standards. As a series of four inter-connected houses, the home allows its residents to visit destinations within the property, all within a manageable scale for those with limited mobility. The result is a perception of travel to and from, contributing to perceived ability and self-reliance which are vital for positive mental health outcomes.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics predicts that between 2000 and 2030, Australia’s population will rise by one-third. In this same period, the population of those aged 65 and over are projected to increase by 139% and will make up one fifth of the population. This will be felt most in regional areas too, with the highest concentration of seniors being seen in non-urban regions, while projections point to a continual concentration in areas along our pristine coastline for this demographic. These coastal areas a predicted to experience growth of 210% in the number of seniors between now and 2045.
Making these matters worse is the recent revelations through the Aged Care Royal Commission, which found a significant number of establishments were closing around Australia, and especially from non-urban areas. IN the past 12 month, 24 homes alone were closed in Australia, including seven in outer regional area, impacting 282 beds. Such extraordinary growth coupled with the existing issues, and particularly concentrated along our coastline, will present significant challenges. But with every great challenge, presents an even greater opportunity, and John Matthies and the team at AACG are eagerly anticipating and facing these head on.