Many older Australian wish to remain living at home for as long as they can. For many, it’s important they remain in their local communities, where they have friends and family nearby, they know their neighbours, and are familiar with the nearby facilities. The familiarity of home can also be reassuring to older people. The feeling of being immersed in a home they’ve created, a reflection of their life journey and rich with memories, can also be hugely comforting. With...

My name is Charli Maree Darragh and I am the daughter of a victim of the current aged care system. My mother Marie Terese Darragh was murdered in her sleep by a nurse at the St Andrews Nursing Village in Ballina NSW back in 2014, and I am not ashamed to admit that I’m not ‘over it,’ because I probably never will be. My mother’s killer was a woman by the name of Megan Haines who started her career...

The Australian population is getting older, living longer – and for some, getting lonelier. It’s predicted that households of one will rise from 2.1 million in 2011 to a staggering 3.4 million in 2036. Care services are seeing an increased demand for aged care that works with older people, supporting them to keep independent and socially connected in their own homes. Lonely and socially isolated older Australians are a widely distributed, often secluded population. As a group, it’s...

A photo showing an elderly woman standing hunched over on a Sydney train while three young commuters sit down in front of her has been causing quite a stir on the internet lately. The picture, shows an obviously frail and physically limited older woman standing and clutching on to a pole to maintain her balance on a crowded Sydney train, while four young individuals sit comfortably, either ignoring her or too engrossed with their mobile phones to care. The photo...

It’s an uncomfortable image to consider: an elderly person – perhaps somebody you know – physically restrained. Maybe an aged care resident deemed likely to fall has been bound to his chair using wrist restraints; or someone with dementia acting aggressively has been confined to her bed by straps and rails. These scenarios remain a reality in Australia. Despite joining the global trend to promote a “restraint free” model, Australia is one of several high income countries continuing to employ...

Many older Australian wish to remain living at home for as long as they can. For many, it’s important they remain in their local communities, where they have friends and family nearby, they know their neighbours, and are familiar with the nearby facilities. The familiarity of home can also be reassuring to older people. The feeling of being immersed in a home they’ve created, a reflection of their life journey and rich with memories, can also be hugely comforting. With...

Men who used to enjoy a drink with friends after work every evening, are still able to enjoy a drink at night, even though they are living in a hospital dementia ward. Derwen Ward, part of Cefn Coed Hospital in Wales, opened the Derwen Arms last year, a pub that in many ways is just like any other pub. It serves beer, and has a pool table, and a dart board. The Derwen Arms has been set up to look...

It’s an uncomfortable image to consider: an elderly person – perhaps somebody you know – physically restrained. Maybe an aged care resident deemed likely to fall has been bound to his chair using wrist restraints; or someone with dementia acting aggressively has been confined to her bed by straps and rails. These scenarios remain a reality in Australia. Despite joining the global trend to promote a “restraint free” model, Australia is one of several high income countries continuing to employ...

  One of our readers reached out to us recently when we published an article about the Montessori method. She wanted to let us know that learning about the Montessori philosophy helped give her the skills and confidence to let her mother return home after suffering distressing experiences in a residential aged care facility. She wanted to let readers know that “even from the depths of despair, there is hope”, and the importance of being an advocate for your loved one...

The safe and accurate administration of medication is one of the cornerstones of the aged care system. Appropriate systems and strategies for ensuring that the correct medications are given in the prescribed amounts, at the correct times, and to the right people, are a key factor in the trust that residents and their families place in nursing homes. In this day and age, when our lives are becoming increasingly automated in so many ways, it may come as a surprise...

There's nothing quite like the Australian summer. Searing temperatures, high winds, and prolonged heat waves can have devastating consequences on our plant life, our animals and even our people. Elderly Australians are particularly vulnerable during the summer months, with issues like heat stroke, dehydration, exhaustion, and heat syncope all being very real possibilities for those who are unable to get cool and stay hydrated. And one of the recommendations that come up over and over again in order to avoid...

There has been a challenge to the conventional belief, held for decades, that those assessed as being at risk of developing pressure sores must be repositioned every two hours. A paper released last week said two-hourly repositioning is a form of “abuse”, because it interrupts the person’s sleep, causing them to be constantly tired, and possibly contributing to them acting out their feelings of frustration. Two-hourly repositioning also doesn’t prevent pressure sores from developing, the paper said. HelloCare published an...