The discrimination facing us all

Tasmanians are anxiously awaiting the chance to give evidence at hearings for the Royal Commission into Aged Care, says Sue Leitch

OLDER people and their families are telling the Royal Commission about their experience of aged care in Australia, both in residential care and home care.

There have been some good examples of how things are going well, but unfortunately there are more where the tale is not so rosy, and at times deeply disturbing.

What does this say about how we value the lives of older people in Australia?

I would contend that it is not painting a very good picture.

Recently the focus of the Commission was on all things food. From my perspective it is not just about the dollar value of the food delivered that is in itself shocking. It is also about, is that food even reaching the mouths of older Australians in residential care? Is time taken to assist with feeding? Is the food put within reach? Does it look inviting to eat?

Too often we hear stories that families are visiting at meal times to assist with feeding their loved ones. Is this a future you could imagine?

What should we expect from aged care? Is this a home? What would you want for your mother and father? More importantly what would you want if you needed to go into residential care?

I often hear people saying they want a high level of care for their mum or dad and this is what you should look for when visiting potential residential aged care facilities.

How about we use the ultimate test — would you want to live your life there? We should be focusing on the experience of aged care — it is their home often in the last years or months of their lives. How do you want to live?

I doubt you could imagine being sedated for days on end. But a

recent study by Macquarie University has found that one in three aged care residents in the 60 facilities of their study were chemically restrained with antipsychotic and psychotropic drugs. The study found that the aim was to control behaviour of residents through sedation.

These medications have been shown to only be effective to control behaviour in a small group of people, so why is their use so widespread?

I believe we need to face that our society has become ageist, and ageism is the only form of discrimination against your own future selves. It seems to be the one widely accepted form of discrimination left in our society.

When is the Royal Commission on Aged Care coming to town? This is a question I have been asked often in my role as chief executive of COTA Tasmania (formerly Council on the Ageing). Time is moving on and there is so much to talk about.

The Royal Commission has been holding hearings across the country and a number of Tasmanians have made submissions or have appeared already before the Commission interstate, but a number are keen for it to arrive in Hobart to have their voice heard.

These are some of the issues COTA Tasmania will want to see discussed and they reflect issues in the aged care sector that we are aware of.

As the peak body for older Tasmanians, we have people coming to us to tell us their stories. Will these end up as personal submissions?

We don’t know, but what we do know is that it helps us to paint a picture of the experience of aged care in the state of Tasmania that is very diverse and mixed, from wonderful supportive and fulfilling in our later years, through to stories of deep despair and a mixed bag in between.

Another critical issue that needs addressing is the access to Home Care packages to allow people to age in place.

Most people would prefer to stay in their homes, but to do so need support.

However in Tasmania the waitlist for a high level 4 Home Care Package in March was more than 12 months, and at March 31, there were 2142 older people waiting for their approved level of package who had not been offered a lower level package.

It is up to others to fill the gaps in support, be it family, friends, and neighbours if indeed they are able to do so. This is putting older people at risk, when the system was designed to support people to be able to participate as citizens in our society. It often means admissions to hospital or residential care. Or it may be too late to arrive.

I believe we need to face that our society has become ageist ... It seems to be the one widely accepted form of discrimination left in our society

Sue Leitch is chief executive of COTA Tasmania.