Council Aged Care In-Home Support Changes

27 March 2023 Protest at Whitehorse Council by residents and ratepayers objecting to changes in aged care in-home services

“Residents are shell-shocked. Things are happening and residents don’t know about it. This is such an important issue as everyone who gets older will be affected by it. Why is there secrecy when it affects so many people?”

~Tanya Tescher, President of Whitehorse Ratepayers and Residents Association, quoted in The Age article18 January 2023

Under the carpet’: Council secretly votes to exit aged care.

We obtained just under 4,000 SIGNATURES on our combined paper and e-petitions re lack of transparency by Whitehorse Council voting in secret, without community consultation, to terminate in-home aged care services from 30 June 2023. These signatures were tabled in the Legislative Council on 23 March 2023 by Deputy Opposition Leader, Georgie Crozier. We spoke at the Whitehorse Council Meeting 27 March 2023 and had many elderly residents holding up placards against the Council decision.

Key Points from Cara Waters Age article:

"Whitehorse City Council in Melbourne’s east is the latest to pull out of in-home aged care, with the council voting at a confidential meeting to stop providing the service.

The council voted to exit the services from July at an October meeting that was closed to the public. As the meeting was 'in camera', there was no reference to the decision or explanation of it in the council’s minutes of the meeting.

The decision, which affects about 2500 elderly residents and 190 staff, follows Boroondara and Mornington councils’ outsourcing of in-home aged care services to private providers last year. Those moves left thousands of elderly people without care while private providers worked to take over.

Whitehorse residents only found out when they received a letter from the council after the decision was made.

Carol Williams, founder of advocacy group Elder Care Watch, said the council’s failure to disclose its decision until it was too late to do anything about it was “at best disappointing and at worst disturbing”.

She said the decision on whether home care was continued or abandoned could still have been debated in public, even if commercial arrangements were not.

“The Local Government Act emphasises transparency but when you come to specific examples of vitally important decisions you find that transparency is a mirage,” she said.

WRARA Letter to Mayor, Cr. Mark Lane, dated 15 May 2023

Mr Mark Lane

Mayor

Whitehorse City Council

Locked Bag 2

Nunawading Vic 3131

Dear Mayor

In-home aged care services

We write to confirm the widespread community opposition to Council’s secret decision to abandon in-home aged care services from 30 June this year and to highlight some adverse consequences of your decision.

The decision has a number of casualties. Two in particular are the peace of mind of many of your most vulnerable citizens and the spirit of democracy in Council decision-making.

In making this decision did you think about the mental health impact on the vulnerable ratepayers and residents affected? Did you reflect on the fact that relationships of trust between Whitehorse carers and the elderly clients which have been built over years will be destroyed? The vulnerable elderly trust the Whitehorse carers who are well trained, reliable and are fluent in English. As the alternative providers scramble to find sufficient staff to cover their new clients, it is highly unlikely that the majority of these staff will be as well trained, experienced and as fluent in English as are Whitehorse staff. Many Whitehorse staff live locally which brings with it a sense of community. This can’t readily be replicated by a diverse group of alternative providers.

Providing in-home aged care is something local governments can do well and Whitehorse has been an exemplar. It is ironic that your decision will end something really good in a sector with such a sad history of poor care.

Democracy is another casualty of your decision. It began with the choice to consider the aged care issue in-camera. Please let us know if council was legally compelled to go behind closed doors as distinct from being permitted to do so by the Local Government Act. Our FOI claim was then flatly denied.

The anti-democratic ethos continued with Council’s indifference to widespread community concern and opposition to the decision. You will be aware of course of the petition containing close to 4000 hand written signatures, obtained in a short period of time, which called on the Minister for Local Government to ask Council to review its decision and conduct deliberations in open session.

Opposition was also reflected in many calls to the Council offices and to State politicians. It was evident in polite letters to individual Councillors, most of which were not even acknowledged. Another clear indication of community feeling was the atypical overflowing public gallery at the 27 March meeting attended by all age groups. Community views were conveyed there during public presentations. Throughout all this we have been respectful and courteous to councillors. Your response to our sincere and peaceful representations has been to simply ignore us.

Ratepayers and residents have been denied the right to know how each of their councillors voted on this important issue. It is understood that it is within the discretion of councillors to decide whether they will reveal how they voted in this instance. Please let us know if this is not so. To choose not to disclose how you voted is antithetical to the spirit of democracy.

Aged Care Minister Anika Wells has now delayed implementation of the new support-at-home funding model until July 2025 and is on record as being receptive to provider concerns. This significant shift at federal level affords council a clear opportunity to review its decision.

The community does not want its council to function as a soulless business. It wants a compassionate council concerned with the welfare of its residents, especially the most vulnerable.

Many in the City of Whitehorse are feeling a sense of having been let down badly by their elected councillors. The spirit of democracy has taken a beating and we are all the poorer for it.

We call upon you as the current leader however, to advocate a new path for the council in the light of the federal government change, a path that will restore respect for, and confidence in, our local parliament.

Yours sincerely

Tanya Tescher Kathleen Cummings

President Secretary

Whitehorse Ratepayers and Residents Association

c/- 5 Tudor Court, South Blackburn Vic 3130

cc All councillors via email