A new era of aged care design.
Australians are living longer and having much more active retirements. Retirees are increasingly demanding more lifestyle amenities and control over their environment. This has implications for the refurbishment of existing facilities as well as for new buildings.
How can the construction industry plan and design accommodation that can better adapt to people’s lives, enabling them to have maximum independence?
There are several key trends influencing the demand for and design of aged care:
Growing need: Australia, like many other developed nations, has an ageing population. The number of people in aged care is expected to grow exponentially in coming decades. Government projections suggest that by 2023 there will be 30% more personal care workers needed in the sector. McCrindle analysis estimates an extra six million years of care will be needed in the next 30 years.
Higher needs: People are entering permanent residential care at a higher frailty level than a couple of decades ago. This may be due to an increase in home care packages, keeping people in their own homes for longer.
Increasing dementia: The "very elderly" population is increasing as people live longer, which is leading to a rise in dementia. In 2020 there are an estimated 459,000 Australians living with dementia. Without a medical breakthrough, this is expected to increase to 590,000 by 2028 and 1,076,000 by 2058.
Rise in wealth: CoreData observes an increase in demand for "luxury" aged care, driven by 25.7% wealth growth in the 65-74 age cohort.
Deregulation of care: The government has indicated that residential care packages will be given to Australians in future rather than providers, as home care packages currently are. This will create further competition for aged care providers and require them to add service value and improve their bottom line.
Greater compliance: To get government funding, subsidised aged care homes now have to meet Aged Care Quality Standards, which ensure high levels of care and service.
Demand for transparency: The Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety has raised consumer awareness of quality issues in aged care, leading to greater concern and scrutiny when choosing providers.
Using smarter technology.
Technology will be key in planning and delivering services to aged care customers in future. The Royal Commission into Aged Care concludes that significant innovations in service delivery will be needed to meet the structural pressures of aged care efficiently:
“These innovations will affect both the venues in which care services are provided—for example, forms of congregated, but not institutional living are likely to be important in reconciling the need for care with the baby boomers’ demand for independent living—and the manner of service delivery, such as the part that information technology will play.”
One important and growing area is telehealth. The COVID-19 crisis has accelerated the growth of remote delivery for health and wellbeing services, and this trend is expected to continue. The government has indicated that telehealth has a "long-term future" for Australians. Aged care providers will need to invest in infrastructure to enable residents to access telehealth, as well as use video services to communicate with friends and family.
New technologies such as IoT, 5G, AI and robotics will also play a role, from monitoring people and facilities to automating processes. Robotic delivery systems are already being implemented in in some Australian aged care homes. The time saved on manual checks and labour will free up time for higher value services and more social interaction with patients.
Hearing augmentation is another trend, with Hearing Loop zones enabling residents to participate in a wider range of activities without becoming frustrated through a lack of hearing or needing the volume turned up.
IT systems to enable these technologies will need to be incorporated early in the design process.
Creating a home-like experience.
Building design has been shown to have an impact on people suffering dementia. An emphasis on familiarity with their home surroundings has a positive effect on patients’ behaviour. Ideally the design of residents’ surroundings needs to be of a standard equivalent to what they would have experienced in their home environment, as opposed to shared accommodation environments. This obviously increases capital costs as well as ongoing maintenance costs, to maintain facilities in a condition comparable to a home environment.
Dementia areas also need to be very safe but allowing room for physical exercise. Many dementia patients are physically capable and active and appreciate being outdoors. Incorporating internal courtyards or landscaped gardens with wheelchair accessible pathways is important.
More lifestyle amenities.
With the rise in retirees as well as the growing wealth in the demographic, people will demand greater amenities from aged care accommodation.
Aged care facilities will be increasingly architect-designed, with high quality furnishings and fittings and more private facilities. There may be concierge services and a more hotel-like food service, with in-house chefs and a wider menu. Reception areas will also be more like a hotel, with some homes having internal cafés for residents to spend time with one another, or with friends and family.
Specialist care homes and communities are also emerging, offering "golf course" and "coastal" living.
Revenue for residential aged care is forecast to grow by an annualised 4.7% to $24.1 billion over the next five years to June 2023. Australia’s ageing population and increased wealth of older Australians will drive the increase. But as CoreData puts it: "growing pressure on the government budget means there is no free-lunch for aged care providers. Productivity improvements and value add service delivery will be critical to individual provider performance."
Designing, refurbishing and building high quality aged care is more important than ever to serve Australia’s future population. Good care facilities start with good design and ensure efficiency, flexibility and adaptability, making the comfort, safety and wellbeing of residents and staff a priority.
At AssetProjects, we've had over 20 years of experience in managing and delivering projects for our customers. Our ability to minimise disruption centres around understanding our customers' needs, and their customers. Data on usage and timing is one part of this, as is our commitment to community, which sets us apart.
Talk to us today.
