'Tortuous' aged care crisis pushes town to create its own solutions

Fed up with the aged care crisis that has seen a record number of people stuck in hospital awaiting permanent support, one regional town has taken things into its own hands.

Loxton in South Australia's Riverland is about 250 kilometres from Adelaide and almost half of its residents are eligible to enter a retirement village.

As its population has aged, the need for increased services has grown, with just two care complexes in town.  

Resident Sally Goode is the presiding member of the local health advisory council, when she is not tending to her chickens.

In her role, she has seen many people in her community struggling for support through what she believes is a "tortuous" aged care system.

More than 500 patients in South Australia were medically cleared to leave hospital last month but had nowhere to go.

Ms Goode established the Loxton Aged Care Expo in 2023, a bi-annual event that brings together providers and speakers to simplify the process of entering aged care.

She said she could not bear to sit back and watch people wrestle with the system.

"I can only describe it as the everlasting jungle that the government seems to have made out of access to aged care," she said.

"[Patients] wait so long to be assessed that whatever they were needing is either much worse or they've found some other way around it.

"Expos like ours with people behind the counter actually answering your questions are a very good way of finding out the truth or finding out relevance for you."

She said the use of online systems made it especially difficult for many elderly people.

"I'm quite sure there are people who would give up,"

Ms Goode said.

A holistic approach

Local government has also tried to support its aging constituents through the council-owned Loxton Retirement Village.

An additional 22 units will be built with a $2.2 million grant from the federal government to help address its waiting list of more than 250 people.

District Council of Loxton Waikerie Mayor Trevor Norton said the council had advocated for better support from government and was behind the funding grant application.

It had also introduced an Ageing Well Strategy in 2025 after years of work to understand its population.

Cr Norton said the funding support was welcomed but there was more to be done.

"I've got sympathy for governments and there's a whole lot of stuff they've got to do but it doesn't mean they shouldn't be trying as hard as we are," Cr Norton said.

He said one of the barriers to expanding support would be health worker housing and wraparound services.

"We need to make sure there's somewhere for them to live," he said.

"If they bring their families, somewhere for their kids to go to school, childcare if they've got young children, and I think we're meeting a lot of those needs in Loxton." 

State says it is not responsible

SA Health Minister Blair Boyer has maintained the federal government is responsible for the planning, funding and delivery of residential aged care services and access systems.

He said there has been a 730 per cent increase in elderly patients waiting for a place in federal government residential aged care over the past four years.

However, he has commended Loxton for its efforts.

"Loxton shouldn't have to solve this challenge alone, but the community is showing exactly the kind of leadership and initiative that deserves recognition and support from all levels of government," Mr Boyer said.

He said the government had invested in regional health services and was supporting better coordination of health and aged care providers through a range of initiatives.

While the frustration over hefty waitlists for aged care accommodation persists, the Loxton community maintains it is their care for each other that has put them ahead.

"It's all part of just being a very supportive community," Ms Goode said.