By Candice Boyle
MARIBYRNONG City Council health care services are well placed to handle the needs of an aging population, according to an independent audit.
The council’s Home and Community Care (HACC) service was awarded a 96 per cent rating for its services in the Australian Health Care Association’s recent audit.
The council’s aged and diversity manager Jan Consedine said the result was a significant improvement on the 2003 result of 71 per cent.
The service was awarded 19.2 out of a possible 20 for the range of services it provides to frail and elderly residents and residents with disabilities.
“We are really well placed to handle the influx to aged care over the next three to five years,” Ms Consedine said.
Almost 80 community care staff provide services to 2871 residents of all ages and cultural backgrounds.
The services include assistance with cleaning tasks, personal and respite care, domestic assistance, food services, property maintenance, transport and social support services.
The service is part of the council’s ageing well strategy 2004-2016 that aims to make the municipality as liveable as possible for the growing number of older residents.
The mayor Michael Clarke said the audit result was a credit to the community care staff.
“Our community care staff don’t often get a lot of public acknowledgement, but without their help, the quality of life for many residents would drop dramatically,” he said.
The services were tested according to seven national service standards.
