Arabic version: مجتمع لوكستون يبني دعماً محلياً لرعاية كبار السن
According to ABC News, residents in Loxton, South Australia, are developing local initiatives to help people navigate aged care services as demand grows in the Riverland town. Loxton, about 250 kilometres from Adelaide, has an ageing population and only two care complexes.
Sally Goode, presiding member of the local health advisory council, established the Loxton Aged Care Expo in 2023. The biannual event brings providers and speakers together to help residents understand the process of entering aged care. Ms Goode said people can struggle to find clear information, particularly when systems are online.
More than 500 patients in South Australia were medically cleared to leave hospital last month but had nowhere to go, the report said. Ms Goode described access to aged care as an “everlasting jungle” and said long assessment waits can mean a person’s needs become worse before support is available.
The council-owned Loxton Retirement Village will receive 22 additional units through a $2.2 million federal government grant. The development is intended to help address a waiting list of more than 250 people, following an expansion of eight units in 2023.
District Council of Loxton Waikerie Mayor Trevor Norton said the council had also introduced an Ageing Well Strategy in 2025 after years of work to understand its population. He said worker housing, schools, childcare and other wraparound services would be important to expanding support.
SA Health Minister Blair Boyer said planning, funding and delivery of residential aged care services and access systems were Commonwealth responsibilities. He said elderly patients waiting for federal government residential aged care had increased 730 per cent over four years, while commending Loxton’s community leadership.
