As the Federal election is rapidly approaching I thought it would be worthwhile to have a look at what the major parties have planned for the future of aged care. From what I can tell so far aged care does not appear to be featuring prominantly and hardly seems to rate a mention when compared to the importance of 'Stopping the Boats'!!
Here is an overview from a recent article from Australian Ageing Agenda on a debate over productivity commission recommendations.
http://www.australianageingagenda.com.au/2010/08/12/article/Debate-No-clear-commitment-to-adopt-PC-recommendations/DDWZCJKVHF
An overview of the Liberal party position can be found at
http://www.liberal.org.au/Issues/Seniors.aspx
Doesn't appear that Julia Gillard and the current Labout government have a great deal to say on aged care however you can get some indication on the Labour Party website at
http://www.alp.org.au/agenda/more---policies/delivering-for-seniors/
Looks like the Greens are taking aged care seriously. At least they acknowledge that there is actually a crisis. Read more including aged care initiative and discussion papers at
http://greensmps.org.au/agedcare
For a fantastic summary and overview of all aged care election issues have a look at the Aged & Community Services National Report at
www.agedcare.org.au/AGED-CARE.../issue236_12Aug10_federal_election.pdf
If you would like to have your view about the aged care system passed on to the relevant Minister then consider joing the grandplan. Their website can be viewed at
http://www.thegrandplan.com.au/
Until next time....happy voting.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Welcome to Aged Care Insider
Welcome to the first post on the Aged Care Insider blog. If you are reading this then I assume you have some interest in the aged care industry. You might work in it like I do. You might be receiving aged care or considering moving into an aged care facility. Regardless of your reason I hope you find the blog interesting, informative and hopefully insightful. You just need to ask yourself one question.........
Can you handle the truth?
For a number of years I have had access to the inner sanctum of aged care. I have spoken to literally hundreds of people that are the recipients of aged care services. I have also spoken to hundreds of concerned family members and staff that are fed up working in environments where profits are placed before people. This is for all people that care about how older people are treated and for all people that want to make a difference.
In a world where the people are living longer and longer, and getting older and older every generation that passes, aged care is a critical issue. As we age we may reach a point where we become increasingly dependent upon others for our care. There is however one fundamental problem with this equation. The people that are making decisions around how this care is provided are becoming increasingly.....well....uncaring!
As the Aged Care Insider I will take you on a journey into the inside of the aged care industry. I will describe things that I have seen and I share stories that I have heard. For obvious reasons I cannot disclose my identity and to protect the privacy and confidentiality of people I work with I will change identifying details. I will guarantee however that all stories that I share are absolutely true. Some will make you laugh. Some will make you cry. Some will shock. I will endevour to present a balanced view however I also will not pull punches.
Along with providing an insiders perspective I will also endevour to provide a range of articles designed to help users navigate and better understand the aged care system. Entering residential care or trying find suitable home care can be a daunting prospect so I will try to regularly provide information that will hopefully 'demystify' aged care services. If you would like me cover a particular topic please feel free to reply to a post or drop me a line at agedcareinsider@hotmail.com. I will also try to provide an overview of news articles that relate to the aged care sector whenever possible.
While it appears that the Australian government is intent on hiding the truth of how older Australians are really being treated, I on the other am not. These stories need to be told and the truth needs to be revealed. The issues that I raise on this blog may currently affect your grandmother, your grandfather, your aunt, your uncle, your mother or your father. Directly or indirectly they affect all of us. If you dont think it is relevant to you then think again. Believe it or not you too will get old. All of us will eventually be the person in the bed, ringing the bell and waiting an hour before someone helps us to the toilet. What kind of future do you want. If we want to change the system we need to start now......and we need to start here.
I encourage you wherever possible to share your own thoughts and opinions in order to add value and a different perspective to this discussion. Some may accuse me of being biased and of 'painting' an unrealsitic picture of the aged care industry in Australia. This is fine. I will be the first to admit that my view can be quite pessimistic but unfortunately I am becoming increasingly convinced that it is more towards the 'realistic' end of the scale. I look foward to hearing from you.
Can you handle the truth?
For a number of years I have had access to the inner sanctum of aged care. I have spoken to literally hundreds of people that are the recipients of aged care services. I have also spoken to hundreds of concerned family members and staff that are fed up working in environments where profits are placed before people. This is for all people that care about how older people are treated and for all people that want to make a difference.
In a world where the people are living longer and longer, and getting older and older every generation that passes, aged care is a critical issue. As we age we may reach a point where we become increasingly dependent upon others for our care. There is however one fundamental problem with this equation. The people that are making decisions around how this care is provided are becoming increasingly.....well....uncaring!
As the Aged Care Insider I will take you on a journey into the inside of the aged care industry. I will describe things that I have seen and I share stories that I have heard. For obvious reasons I cannot disclose my identity and to protect the privacy and confidentiality of people I work with I will change identifying details. I will guarantee however that all stories that I share are absolutely true. Some will make you laugh. Some will make you cry. Some will shock. I will endevour to present a balanced view however I also will not pull punches.
Along with providing an insiders perspective I will also endevour to provide a range of articles designed to help users navigate and better understand the aged care system. Entering residential care or trying find suitable home care can be a daunting prospect so I will try to regularly provide information that will hopefully 'demystify' aged care services. If you would like me cover a particular topic please feel free to reply to a post or drop me a line at agedcareinsider@hotmail.com. I will also try to provide an overview of news articles that relate to the aged care sector whenever possible.
While it appears that the Australian government is intent on hiding the truth of how older Australians are really being treated, I on the other am not. These stories need to be told and the truth needs to be revealed. The issues that I raise on this blog may currently affect your grandmother, your grandfather, your aunt, your uncle, your mother or your father. Directly or indirectly they affect all of us. If you dont think it is relevant to you then think again. Believe it or not you too will get old. All of us will eventually be the person in the bed, ringing the bell and waiting an hour before someone helps us to the toilet. What kind of future do you want. If we want to change the system we need to start now......and we need to start here.
I encourage you wherever possible to share your own thoughts and opinions in order to add value and a different perspective to this discussion. Some may accuse me of being biased and of 'painting' an unrealsitic picture of the aged care industry in Australia. This is fine. I will be the first to admit that my view can be quite pessimistic but unfortunately I am becoming increasingly convinced that it is more towards the 'realistic' end of the scale. I look foward to hearing from you.
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