Originally Posted by
justakiwi
The reality is, these are already inadequate. Most rest homes have waiting lists (NGO or private), there are not enough hospital level beds and don’t even get me started on dementia care facilities. I have no idea what the situation is in the North Island, but down here, I have heard of many elderly spouses and families having to travel from (say) Timaru to Dunedin, to visit their loved one in full time dementia care.
How many retirement village companies are providing rest home, hospital level and/or secure dementia care, on the same site as their villages? They need to be giving this serious thought, and sooner rather than later, as the average age of our elderly is increasing, as is the incidence of dementia. Our rest home has 30 permanent residents. Only about 3 of them are under 80 years of age. Most of them are between 85 and 102! None of them could live in an independent living situation, and 2 or 3 of them are now close to needing hospital level care or D3 dementia care.
The government will always financially support these cares, but somebody needs to provide them.