As the royal commission resumed hearings into younger people living in residential aged care, Commissioner Lynelle Briggs put to Dr Nicholas Hartland, from the Department of Health, that “the current system is at best a national embarrassment and at worst, a national disgrace.” “Pipeline” sends young people into residential aged care Australia has a “pipeline” sending younger people into residential aged care because there is a “huge gap” in checks and balances, said Peter Rozen QC, counsel assisting...

  The royal commission is hearing this week from younger Australians living in residential aged care. Lisa Corcoran, who spoke with the help of a speech pathologist, made her feelings clear. “My number one goal is to get the fuck out of the nursing home,” she said during the first day of hearings.  Ms Corcoran said her second goal was to hug her children, and her third, to communicate better. But no one present at the Melbourne hearing could...

Mouldy toothbrushes, untreated abscesses and dirt-flecked dentures:  not exactly the embodiment of the way a humane society should look after its vulnerable members. They are, however, symptoms of a growing problem in Australia – how do we preserve the oral health of our older people? Oral health may not head the top of priorities for older Australians about to enter care or receiving care in their homes, but it should be high on the list of pressing matters for the...

A Queensland mother has designed a range of beautiful scarves for older people and the disabled, and has found the venture has reverberated far more widely than she expected. When Wilmarie Craig, who cares for her daughter and ageing mother in law, began sewing scarves for them to wear at meal time, she had little idea of the changes to her life she had set in motion. An expert sewer, Ms Craig had gone online to find designs she could...

Mouldy toothbrushes, untreated abscesses and dirt-flecked dentures:  not exactly the embodiment of the way a humane society should look after its vulnerable members. They are, however, symptoms of a growing problem in Australia – how do we preserve the oral health of our older people? Oral health may not head the top of priorities for older Australians about to enter care or receiving care in their homes, but it should be high on the list of pressing matters for the...

Men are not exactly renowned for sharing their feelings or opening up emotionally. Decades worth of macho infused stigmatism and unfair social expectations have seen generations of male Australians forgo the opportunity to talk about problems, and opt for silence instead. While notions like this might seem outdated in this day and age, sadly they are still far too prominent, and even though attitudes are changing, nowhere is this problem more prevalent than in elderly males. Believe it or not...

  Older people with dementia who remain living at home may suffer more pain, anxiety and poor health than their counterparts living in nursing homes, according to new research. In a new study out of the United States, researchers compared 728 adults over the age of 65 years who were living with moderately severe dementia in three settings: the person’s own home, residential facilities with support, and nursing homes, where residents receive help with basic daily care. The findings, which...

  A government committee has heard that Australia’s regulation of the use of physical and chemical constraints is in breach of human rights conventions. Former aged care minister Ken Wyatt approved the new regulations to limit the use of chemical and physical restraint in April 2019, and they became effective in July. But a special hearing was held yesterday after a number of groups warned the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights that the regulations raised human rights concerns. Consent...

  New research has shown that remaining socially active in your 50s and 60s lowers the risk of developing dementia. While previous studies have shown that social connectedness can protect against dementia, earlier studies have only been conducted over relatively short periods. This latest study by University College London was conducted over 28 years, making it the most robust research in this field. Loneliness a “health epidemic” AMA President, Dr Tony Bartone, told HelloCare people are living longer and the incidence of...

  The Minister for Aged Care and Senior Australians, Senator Richard Colbeck, has announced the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety will be extended for six months. The government has agreed to the Royal Commission’s request for a six-month extension so it can to continue hearing evidence from around Australia and continue to conduct its deliberations, Mr Colbeck said. Aged care remains “front and centre” of the government’s agenda, he said. “It is important that our aged care...

There is a “pipeline” of young people moving from hospital to residential aged care, and often other options are not even considered, the royal commission has heard. Every week in Australia, on average 42 younger people enter residential aged care, the equivalent of six per day or 2,000 every year. Most are sent to aged care after being discharged from hospital. “The ‘pipeline’ is an express route into aged care,” said Dr Bronwyn Morkham, National Director, Young People...

While the spoken word is often thought of as a basic form of communication, the choices that we make in regards to the language we use are dependant on a variety of complex influences and circumstances.  As children, we learn quickly that the way that we speak with our friends is not necessarily appropriate when addressing others, and the social rules and regulations regarding our language choices become more intricate as we continue to grow and venture into the...