People were seeking care when they were in a more frail state than in previous generations, she said, and requiring more assistance.<\/p>\n
\u201cAcross New Zealand we are seeing a reduction in care beds, at rest home, hospital level, dementia and even psychogeriatic. We are seeing a reduction in care beds that are able to be provided for just the amount of money that the state has said they should get.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor a hospital level bed that\u2019s on average $353 a day. That\u2019s what they are allowed to charge for care because that\u2019s what the state has decreed.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut they are allowed to put a premium charge on top of that if the accommodation has something different or extra, and that\u2019s what the premium charges are for.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tracey Martin, chief executive at the Aged Care Association. Photo \/ RNZ, Nate McKinnon<\/p>\n
Who pays what?<\/p>\n
People who are going into a rest home can access a government subsidy for care, if they meet the asset test. <\/p>\n
This requires that single people needing care have assets below $291,825, or a couple with only one person needing care has assets of $291,825 or $159,810 plus their home and car.<\/p>\n
The Government then takes all of the pension except for about $57 a week, then tops up the difference, to $352 a day for hospital level care.<\/p>\n
Not-for-profit providers offer about 60% of the country\u2019s rest home care and tend to charge lower premium rates, or, in some cases, standard rooms. But they face large costs and many were having to add large premiums to break even, Martin said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really impacting on New Zealand families. They just cannot find a place for their loved one to be. It\u2019s also backing up emergency departments. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got seniors in hospital who need to come into residential care and they can\u2019t find a residential care bed so they can\u2019t discharge them from hospital, so they can\u2019t put people out of ED up into the wards.\u201d<\/p>\n
No standard rooms being built<\/p>\n
Good Shepherd community financial wellbeing advocate Bruce Smith said he had recently been through the process for his mother.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnybody will need to pay for what is known as a premium room and that is a room with ensuite or attached bathroom. Cost seems to start around $25 per day for the added luxury. If they don\u2019t have a standard room available and the family can\u2019t afford to pay for the premium room then they will need to shop around at other rest homes.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were very fortunate in Timaru to use Glenwood which is a charitable trust-owned home where a jack and jill bathroom was considered standard and no additional cost.\u201d<\/p>\n
But another woman, who sought care for her father in Wellington, said it had seemed almost impossible to find a room that did not have a surcharge. Her father had had to move out for renovations and was told that after that happened there would be no rooms that met the standard rate requirements.<\/p>\n
Another said she had been quoted $35 to $85 a day on top of the subsidy, depending on whether it was a shared room.<\/p>\n
Ryman said in many newer or redeveloped villages, all rooms would exceed the minimum standard. Metlifecare said it, too, did not offer standard care rooms.<\/p>\n
Logan Mudge, head of communications at Summerset, said it had been converting standard rooms into premium rooms or care occupation right agreements since 2024.<\/p>\n
\u201cSituations where a resident\u2019s family could pay may happen, however, if family were unable to assist, they would need to look for availability of a standard room with another aged care provider, which would more likely be a facility in the not-for-profit sector.\u201d<\/p>\n
Karen Billings-Jensen, chief executive at Age Concern, said that in some smaller centres around the country there could be more standard rooms available because the sites might be older.<\/p>\n
Government acknowledges reform needed<\/p>\n