00:01She is the cherished matriarch of four generations of this family, but the unexpected death of
00:08Valma Cupid's husband and devoted primary carer Darrell last year plunged the family
00:13into crisis.
00:14It was a crash course for everybody to learn about the age system, to even learn about
00:21how far Val's condition had progressed.
00:25The 86-year-old's daughters stepped up, providing round-the-clock care that allowed her to
00:29remain in her own home.
00:31I actually had to finish work.
00:33I couldn't go to work because we had to look after mum.
00:36We had no idea how hard it was for a carer.
00:40After four and a half months, it wore us all out.
00:46While offering home care, they were also searching for respite care and permanent high care, filling
00:52out dozens of highly detailed and unique applications.
00:56It was really a struggle.
00:58Wouldn't it be good if we had just one application...
01:00It took five months for Val Cupid to secure a room in residential aged care.
01:05While her family is relieved and grateful, they want to see changes to help other families.
01:11They don't really need to chase for clients, so they don't have to make it easy.
01:16Occupancy is sitting around 94%, which means there is limited choice for people between facilities.
01:22And we do find that providers are then cherry-picking which clients come in to fit their business
01:28or financial model.
01:29Local support services to help navigate the system could give older Australians and their
01:34carers more choice and control.
01:36They'd like to talk to a real person about their particular personal circumstances.
01:41We do think there should be government funding so that all people can be provided with navigational
01:46support to get into residential aged care.
01:49A universal application pathway for all facilities could also help.
01:53Digital first, but not digital only, is really important.
01:56It really shouldn't be up to the provider to have to take individual applications,
02:00or really importantly, to the families to be going out and begging for a place in a residential aged care
02:05service.
02:05Harnessing technology to show current care vacancies is also needed.
02:10If you think about other things that we all do when we're looking for accommodation or we're trying to get
02:14a ride,
02:15we know the technology exists that could make this easier.
02:18With the number of Australians aged over 70 set to hit 2.3 million by 2044,
02:24demand for residential aged care is only going to grow.
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