According to the nurse manager and team leader of the Greater Western Area Health Service’s aged care assessment team (ACAT) Gary Hillier, the fact that Orange’s elderly residents are having to temporarily re-locate to neighbouring towns such as Forbes or Cowra while they wait for a bed to become available locally “stinks”.

Speaking to a group of trainee doctors from the University of Sydney in Orange yesterday, Mr Hillier said it was “heartbreaking” at times to see patients separated from their family and local support systems, simply because there aren’t enough resources in Orange to cater to their health care needs.

Hillier and his team are brought in to assess the level and type of aged care which is most appropriate for the elderly person, however despite their recommendations often services such as the Community Aged Care Package, which allows the elderly to receive nursing-home level care within their own home, are simply not available.

Mr Hillier admits it’s often hard for people to come to terms with the aging process and the fact that they may have to leave the house they’ve lived in for decades.

“It’s a very hard decision for people to make ... detachment is not easy.”

As the population ages and more and more young people migrate to the city, many of the elderly are being left to cope without family support and the strain this is placing on them and the community is dire.

The number of referrals being undertaken by the ACAT in the Orange Cabonne, Cowra and Grenfell region has grown from 12,090 five years ago to a forecast 15,000 for this year which signals that existing resources are set to be stretched even further.