Aged Care Crisis
for consumers, by consumers
Our Columnist has been an advocate for better aged care for over a decade. They have worked in aged-care homes and supported seven family members and friends through the Australian system of aged care and found many aspects of it wanting. They have co-authored several submissions to Senate Inquiries on matters relating to aged care and written widely on social policy issues concerning ageing and accommodation for marginalized people.
Just the other day a friend drew my attention to the comment below. It is dated January 2018 and is a response to an article in Australian Ageing Agenda (written in November 2015) re one of the many reviews into aged care. It refers to the need for higher staffing levels and more skilled staffing in aged-care homes.
People are usually stunned to learn that there are no set staff/resident ratios in aged-care homes. They simply assume that frail older people in care will be treated like other vulnerable individuals – for example like those in hospital or very young children in kindergarten and day-care – all of whom receive the protection of mandated levels of staffing.
Last week the federal government finally got around to announcing its long-promised, aged-care reform agenda. Yet the stunning thing about the announcement was not the package itself but the tenor of the resulting talk-back and commentary.
Radio presenters took call after call from individuals expressing great fear and dread of nursing homes. Stories of distressing neglect were recounted. The public clearly has little confidence in the current system of residential care. It is therefore hard to understand why such negative public comment is not seen as a major disaster in public policy?
Imagine waking from deep sleep to see a stranger’s face staring right down at you. Then imagine that someone enters your private space many times a week and that you are 96 years old with limited mobility.
This is life for a friend of mine who lives in a high-care residential facility. It also happened to my mother in similar circumstances – and regularly happens to many others. I cannot imagine any other situation – other than aged care - where such occurrences would be considered run-of-the-mill.
Imagine Alice - single woman, no children, getting older, some health issues. Alice decides to take steps to provide for her own care. She has been an independently-minded person all her life and does not wish to be a burden to her extended family.
With some help and following an ACAT assessment, she chooses a low-care home. The facility she finally decides on has great promotional material showing many happy faces. The building is pleasant and one of the features promised by the home is ageing-in-place.
This seems like a good idea. Alice doesn’t want another difficult move at her stage of life...
