MIRRIDONG facility manager Leah Wolfe is not surprised by a report which says the amount of aged care beds in Bendigo will need to more than double in 18 years to meet demand.
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There are currently 1040 beds available in Bendigo, which will need to increase to 2320 by 2031 in a high growth scenario, according to a report by Regional Cities Victoria.
Ms Wolfe said an ageing population and advances in medicine meant more people needed aged care beds for longer. The East Bendigo aged care facility is currently undergoing redevelopment to facilitate another 30 beds due to high demand.
Ms Wolfe said it was crucial more beds were made available in Bendigo.
“It takes well over five years to get something like this development going,” she said. “It’s a long process to get approvals for beds because the government decides who needs it.”
Federal Minister for Mental Health and Ageing Mark Butler said a $3.7 billion new aged care reform plan announced last year would go some way to addressing the need for beds across Victoria.
He said the new beds would be assigned to Bendigo if it was deemed in need of them.
“A very large number of these places will be provided in regional communities including Bendigo and the surrounding area.”?
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