WITH rising demand for aged care services, Murrumbidgee Medicare Local has brought Junee's service providers - including Murrumbidgee Local Health District (MLHD), Home and Community Care, aged care providers - together to provide key information for elderly residents.
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General practitioner Darren Corbett said the information forum was about letting locals know about the services available to them.
"The aim is to keep people in their own homes as long as possible, keeping people physically and mentally active," he said.
"One of the problems is some patients will wait until they're in crisis and arrive at the emergency department," Junee Multi-Purpose Service's acting health service manager Phil Major said.
"We want people to start thinking earlier and to come and talk to service providers about their needs."
Mr Major said many of the services available locally could help people remain independent at home.
"We want more people to not need hospital care, it means we would be managing illness at home better," Dr Corbett said.
He said the demand for aged care services was increasing around Australia, not just in Junee.
"There's an incredible shortage of nursing home beds nationally and its led to the unhappy situation where people who have lived in Junee for 80 years can't be looked after in Junee," Dr Corbett said.
"We've got a big problem looming and governments are looking the other way.
"Beds are cheap to build, but very expensive to run."
