Disabled and Elderly Housed in Caravan Parks (NSW. AUSTRALIA)

By ALEXANDRA SMITH

September 15, 2009

CARAVAN parks and motels are being used to house disabled and elderly people because of a chronic shortage of supported care homes in NSW, figures released under freedom of information laws reveal.

The Department of Ageing, Disability and Home Care figures, obtained by the Opposition, show the Government has paid as much as $780 a week to house a disabled person in a hotel or motel. The department also relies on serviced apartments and caravan parks across the state when they cannot find appropriate emergency supported care homes for its clients, the documents show.

It also emerged yesterday that only 10 young disabled people had been relocated from nursing homes in the past two years despite a target to move at least 130. About 2700 disabled people under 65 are in nursing homes.

Abridged

SOURCE: The Sydney Morning Herald

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Can we call this elder abuse by the government? What do we do if the situation was created by a private company?

The young and disabled people should NOT be housed in nursing homes. They have different needs and should be treated as such. It certainly, is an issue that has been ignored by different levels of the government, in many countries.

'Out of sight, out of mind' mentality must stop.

.................... AC

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