The Sydney Morning Herald published an article exploring the foreseeable increase in residential care costs due to additional regulations and better staff-to-resident ratios. As a result, “staying at home [is] increasingly attractive and more competitive.” Due to these upcoming challenges, Australia’s royal commission reviewed the Netherlands model of elder care, where only 3% of elderly people are in residential care.
The Netherlands cites that elders “prefer to be in their own homes, and it saves money.” They have found that at-home care reduced the chance of a person moving to residential care. As COVID-19 has revealed, nursing homes and other long-term care facilities are often not a safer nor enjoyable option for our loved ones. Moving forward, families may consider at-home care more seriously as their loved ones age.
For more on how other countries provide options to their elderly generation, read here.
