❓ Minister McGurk outlines the Time to Think program's success in easing hospital pressure and supporting older Western Australians, highlighting its expansion and positive outcomes while advocating for increased federal funding for aged care.
AnsweredQoN 612Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
Time to Think—Aged Care Program612.Mr Stephen Prattto
the Minister for Aged Care and Seniors:I refer to the Cook
Labor government's commitment to getting Western Australians the health care
they need when they need it.(1) Can the minister
inform the house how our nation-leading Time to Think program is helping ease
pressureon our hospitals?(2) Can
the minister advise what this means for older Western Australians?
the Minister for Aged Care and Seniors:I refer to the Cook
Labor government's commitment to getting Western Australians the health care
they need when they need it.(1) Can the minister
inform the house how our nation-leading Time to Think program is helping ease
pressureon our hospitals?(2) Can
the minister advise what this means for older Western Australians?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
12 November 2025
Response time
0 days
Ms Simone McGurk replied:(1)–(2) I thank the member for the
question. Before I answer the question, can I acknowledge that this week is Seniors
Week. As part of Seniors Week, I got to go to Have a Go Day. It is like the Big
Day Out for seniors! It is a great event, with 200 stalls and 15,000 people
expected to be in attendance. It is in its 33rd year. It was great to be there.
I give credit to the Seniors Recreation Council of WA. I saw Colin Steer,the state president, and Dawn Yates, the executive officer,
there. It was going great guns when I left this morning.Of course, providing people with
some surety about their health care, so they know that if they have a health
incident and need some assistance with the next level of care after leaving
hospital, there will be somewhere safe for them to go, has been an important
focus of our government and, in fact, is why I have been appointed as the Minister
for Aged Care and Seniors in the Cook Labor government. One of our initiatives
is our nation-leading program called Time to Think, whereby we give seniors the
ability to be in a dedicated bed in a care setting, usually a residential aged-care
setting, to give them, as the program indicates, time to plan the next level of
their care journey. They will get not only good clinical care if it is needed and
the supports that are usually there in a residential care setting, but also
some social work support if they need it, some financial planning, links with Services
Australia and some advice for them and their families.We are pleased that we have
exceeded our original plans; we are now at 69 beds across the state, with more
beds to come online very soon. As I said, this program ensures that older
people can transition safely and comfortably from hospital to aged care and are
supported every step of the way. In fact, about one in five of those people, or
about 20%, return home with the proper supports, so that is a good outcome. Of
course, we want all older Western Australians to have dignity in this program,
and I think that is how Graeme Prior described this program when we met at one
of his facilities in High Wycombe, along with the Premier and the Minister for
Health. He said that this is a kind program, because it gives people and their
families time in a proper care setting to work through the issues. In fact,
since we have had that program, we have been able to discharge 220 long-stay
older patients, freeing up more than 4,800 hospital bed days—4,800—and
saving $12.9 million in hospital capacity. Of course it is not only better for
those older patients, but it is also more cost effective. It draws on our more
than $14 billion investment in health since 2021. That is a massive dollar
amount that the WA Labor government has put into our health system.Despite WA leading the nation in
aged-care innovation, we face the challenge of a rapidly ageing population. In
fact, the projections are that in another 25 years almost one in five Western
Australians will be over the age of 80. That time will come about soon enough. I
repeat that: by 2050, one in five Western Australians will be over the age of
80. We cannot do this as a state government alone. My priority as the Minister
for Aged Care and Seniors has been to address these challenges with the federal
government and I call on them to deliver WA's fair share of Commonwealth
government aged-care support.It is only this side of the
chamber that has committed to advocating to the federal government to ensure
that as a state we get our fair share of the Commonwealth's spend on aged-care
services. We will continue to work with the Commonwealth government to do
everything necessary to increase the supply of aged-care services, to
understand the analytics, to understand the figures that are coming in terms of
residential aged care and home-care supports so that Western Australians can
access the care they need, when they need it.Several members
interjected.Ms Simone McGurk:I hear noises from across the
chamber, but I ask the opposition what policies it took to the last election
when it came to seniors or aged care.Several members
interjected.The Speaker:Members!Ms Simone McGurk:In fact, when the opposition was in
government for eight-and-a-half years, did it talk about aged care at all? I do
not remember one word about aged care.Several members
interjected.The Speaker:Members!Ms Simone McGurk:Members
opposite are talking about hospital beds and that is not what I am talking
about. I am talking about seniors policy and specifically work around aged care—they
said absolutely nothing. They would be well placed to stop and listen and learn
from this side about what we are doing in relation to health, what we are doing
in relation to seniors and what we are doing in relation to aged care.Finally, when it
comes to the workforce to support residential aged-care facilities and
home-care packages, we have a record investment in TAFE to skill, upskill and
reskill to expand and strengthen our aged-care workforce, including fee-free certificate
II and certificate IV in ageing support, and also the introduction of an aged care
diploma of nursing, which cost $10,000 under the previous government. Under the
Cook Labor government, it is free.This is a historic
transformation of our healthcare system and we are expanding our nation-leading
services, building hospitals, upgrading facilities and investing in Western
Australians because when it comes to health care, the Cook Labor government
delivers.
Time to Think—Aged Care Program
question. Before I answer the question, can I acknowledge that this week is Seniors
Week. As part of Seniors Week, I got to go to Have a Go Day. It is like the Big
Day Out for seniors! It is a great event, with 200 stalls and 15,000 people
expected to be in attendance. It is in its 33rd year. It was great to be there.
I give credit to the Seniors Recreation Council of WA. I saw Colin Steer,the state president, and Dawn Yates, the executive officer,
there. It was going great guns when I left this morning.Of course, providing people with
some surety about their health care, so they know that if they have a health
incident and need some assistance with the next level of care after leaving
hospital, there will be somewhere safe for them to go, has been an important
focus of our government and, in fact, is why I have been appointed as the Minister
for Aged Care and Seniors in the Cook Labor government. One of our initiatives
is our nation-leading program called Time to Think, whereby we give seniors the
ability to be in a dedicated bed in a care setting, usually a residential aged-care
setting, to give them, as the program indicates, time to plan the next level of
their care journey. They will get not only good clinical care if it is needed and
the supports that are usually there in a residential care setting, but also
some social work support if they need it, some financial planning, links with Services
Australia and some advice for them and their families.We are pleased that we have
exceeded our original plans; we are now at 69 beds across the state, with more
beds to come online very soon. As I said, this program ensures that older
people can transition safely and comfortably from hospital to aged care and are
supported every step of the way. In fact, about one in five of those people, or
about 20%, return home with the proper supports, so that is a good outcome. Of
course, we want all older Western Australians to have dignity in this program,
and I think that is how Graeme Prior described this program when we met at one
of his facilities in High Wycombe, along with the Premier and the Minister for
Health. He said that this is a kind program, because it gives people and their
families time in a proper care setting to work through the issues. In fact,
since we have had that program, we have been able to discharge 220 long-stay
older patients, freeing up more than 4,800 hospital bed days—4,800—and
saving $12.9 million in hospital capacity. Of course it is not only better for
those older patients, but it is also more cost effective. It draws on our more
than $14 billion investment in health since 2021. That is a massive dollar
amount that the WA Labor government has put into our health system.Despite WA leading the nation in
aged-care innovation, we face the challenge of a rapidly ageing population. In
fact, the projections are that in another 25 years almost one in five Western
Australians will be over the age of 80. That time will come about soon enough. I
repeat that: by 2050, one in five Western Australians will be over the age of
80. We cannot do this as a state government alone. My priority as the Minister
for Aged Care and Seniors has been to address these challenges with the federal
government and I call on them to deliver WA's fair share of Commonwealth
government aged-care support.It is only this side of the
chamber that has committed to advocating to the federal government to ensure
that as a state we get our fair share of the Commonwealth's spend on aged-care
services. We will continue to work with the Commonwealth government to do
everything necessary to increase the supply of aged-care services, to
understand the analytics, to understand the figures that are coming in terms of
residential aged care and home-care supports so that Western Australians can
access the care they need, when they need it.Several members
interjected.Ms Simone McGurk:I hear noises from across the
chamber, but I ask the opposition what policies it took to the last election
when it came to seniors or aged care.Several members
interjected.The Speaker:Members!Ms Simone McGurk:In fact, when the opposition was in
government for eight-and-a-half years, did it talk about aged care at all? I do
not remember one word about aged care.Several members
interjected.The Speaker:Members!Ms Simone McGurk:Members
opposite are talking about hospital beds and that is not what I am talking
about. I am talking about seniors policy and specifically work around aged care—they
said absolutely nothing. They would be well placed to stop and listen and learn
from this side about what we are doing in relation to health, what we are doing
in relation to seniors and what we are doing in relation to aged care.Finally, when it
comes to the workforce to support residential aged-care facilities and
home-care packages, we have a record investment in TAFE to skill, upskill and
reskill to expand and strengthen our aged-care workforce, including fee-free certificate
II and certificate IV in ageing support, and also the introduction of an aged care
diploma of nursing, which cost $10,000 under the previous government. Under the
Cook Labor government, it is free.This is a historic
transformation of our healthcare system and we are expanding our nation-leading
services, building hospitals, upgrading facilities and investing in Western
Australians because when it comes to health care, the Cook Labor government
delivers.
Time to Think—Aged Care Program
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