Queensland Transition Care Places- Out of Hospital and Back Into Their Homes

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20 November 2008

Australian Minister for Ageing, Justine Elliot, today announced a further 16 transition care places have become operational in Queensland – helping hundreds of older people out of hospital and back to their homes.

The recently operational places - funded by the Australian Government – are in West Moreton Bay (4), Logan River Valley (10) and Toowoomba (2).

There are now 32 of the 38 new places operational in Queensland.

That means the 38 places will get 285 older Queenslanders a year out of hospital and back into their homes.

The 38 transition care places in Queensland are part of the first instalment of 228 new fully-funded transition care places allocated nationally under the Australian Government’s four-year transition care plan.

Each funded place will be used by up to eight (7.5) different older Australians a year.

Queensland would receive a total of 382 of the new 2,000 places by 2012. This is in addition to 351 existing transition care places in Queensland.

By 2012, Queensland would have a total of 733 places fully operational. This would mean the provision of services to as many as 5,500 older Queenslanders after a hospital stay a year.

Queensland allocations of transition care places for 2008-09

	Service Name	Number of transition care places	Date of operation
Queensland	Northside Transition Care Program	16	27 October 2008
	West Moreton Transition Care Program	4	31 October 2008
	Logan-Beaudesert Transition Care Program	10	1 November 2008
	Toowoomba Transition Care Program	2	6 November 2009
	Townsville Transition Care Program	4	January 2009
	Cairns Transition Care Program	2	January 2009
Total		38	As January 2009

“Older Australians – after a hospital procedure – want to return to their homes rather than staying in hospital or going into a nursing hostel prematurely,” Mrs Elliot said.

“Transition care places are about making sure that older Australians retain their independence and help ensure their quality of life.

“It is also about preparing for the challenges of an ageing population and their needs,” Mrs Elliot said.

The Australian Government is working closely with the Queensland Government to provide extra transition care places to help older people make a smooth transition from hospital back to their homes or into nursing hostels.

It provides older people with appropriate services or therapy for up to 12 weeks to help them regain their independence before making a decision about their possible longer term care needs.

In the 2008-09 Budget, the Australian Government committed $293.2 million over four years to the Transition Care Program, providing an extra 2,000 places on top of the existing 2,000 places for older people after a hospital stay.

The transition care places are being rolled out through four allocations.

National transition care place roll-out
2008-2009	228 places
2009-2010	400 places
2010-2011	600 places
2011-2012	800 places

Nationally, by mid-2012, when all 4,000 transition care places are fully operational, up to 30,000 older Australians benefiting a year.

The Australian Government has already announced places in Victoria, South Australia, New South Wales, Western Australia and the ACT.

State and Territories are the approved providers for the transition care program under the Aged Care Act, which allows them to determine the model of transition care based on local need. This includes determining whether community-based or bed-based transition care is required to address local needs.

Background

Transition care provides a package of services tailored to the person’s needs. This may include a range of low intensity therapy services and nursing support and/or personal care services.

Examples of low intensity therapy service may include:

• Physiotherapy;
• Occupational therapy;
• Dietetics;
• Podiatry; and
• Speech therapy, counselling and social work.

• Showering, dressing and eating;
• Managing incontinence;
• Transport to appointments; and
• Moving, eating and communication.