Aged care review timing 'cynical'

The New Zealand Aged Care Association has been labelled ''cynical'' for deciding to carry out a review of the sector close to a general election.

In 2010, the publicly funded Grant Thornton aged residential care service review highlighted a projected increase in demand which the sector could struggle to meet, due to the cost of building new facilities.

Aged Care Association chief executive Martin Taylor said the Government was not interested in repeating the exercise, so the lobby group would fund its own, to be released about next March.

The problem of lack of profitability was likely to be worse than in 2010, he said. This was due to increased regulations, increased building costs, increased operating costs, and no significant funding increases except for dementia care.

Mr Taylor said it was unlikely that in an election year the Government would welcome a report that could highlight a lack of progress.

Nelson Marlborough Health Board chief executive Chris Fleming, the district health boards' lead chief executive for health of older people, said the lobby group's timing was cynical.

''I would view it as relatively cynical that they're going to go and fund a follow-up review themselves ... I don't think it takes a genius to figure out the timing of that.''

The Grant Thornton report, which cost about $1 million, identified the issues, and it was now time to get on with finding solutions rather than undertaking another stocktake, he said.

The aged care lobby viewed the sector's problems solely as a funding issue, when it was wider than that, Mr Fleming said.

It was not all ''doom and gloom'' either, he said, pointing out many new facilities had opened in recent years.

eileen.goodwin@odt.co.nz