Shortages of protective equipment and a lack of fitting masks were behind the COVID-19 infections of thousands of Victorian healthcare workers, experts have said. “Multiple failures” in the planning of PPE for healthcare workers have contributed to the infections, and there is still some way to go until the situation is fixed,” Physician Dr Michelle Ananda-rajah told ABC news this morning. She said though the situation has improved, she is still hearing reports that the masks are not...

Australia’s aged care system is “totally inequitable” because the wealthy do not make a larger contribution to the costs of the services they use as they age, the royal commission has heard. The former Chair of the Aged Care Financing Authority, Mike Callaghan, told the commissioners most Australians “don't spend the money they have in retirement”. “People with assets they have going into retirement, when they die they haven't dipped into them. And there's very large growth in inheritances.”...

  After contracting coronavirus in his aged care home, 100 year old Roy has just been discharged from St Vincent's Private Hospital in Melbourne after beating the virus.  “After 6 long weeks in hospital, 100 year old COVID-19 survivor Roy is heading back home to his aged care facility. Roy said an emotional farewell to our team as he left, thankful to be fully recovered,” the hospital wrote on their Facebook page.  “This certainly calls for a...

In 1988, Massachusetts man Brad Hathaway was diagnosed with diabetes, heart problems and other health issues.  His doctor suggested that he start walking immediately, and regularly if he wanted to improve his health.  “My doctor said, ‘You better walk. You better start walking tomorrow and start walking three miles a day’,” Brad said. “So, I did, and I mapped out the entire town.” Thirty-two years later, Brad has walked three miles every day, sometimes getting to...

  When we think of fashion for grandmas and older people, we may think of comfy cardis, house slippers, and sensible trousers. While there’s nothing wrong with that, these stylish ladies have taken a different approach and are rewriting the fashion rules for older people. Covering the whole rainbow of colours, every kind of texture, and always expertly accessorised, these ladies sure know how to grow old stylishly. Jean & Valerie @idiosyncraticfashionistas Jean and Valerie describe themselves as “NYC style...

  The appeal of self-management in the Home Care Packages Program is understandable. Older people have been looking after themselves and others for a long time, and most want to remain in the driver’s seat.  Self-managed Home Care Package providers advertise that they offer more choice, more control, more hours and more freedom - all for a fixed cost of 13% of the budget. But is self-management all it’s cracked up to be? The basics: What is self-management? While...

Lewy body disease, a form of degenerative dementia, has proven extremely difficult to accurately diagnose. This is due to its similarities to other diseases and the impossibility of finding Lewy bodies through brain scans and other diagnosis methods.  Despite these challenges, it is vital that this disease is diagnosed as early as possible, as inappropriate treatment has been seen to worsen the condition.  What is Lewy body? Lewy body disease is a form of dementia. It is caused...

Dementia Australia have released the results of a survey which found that people living with dementia are facing discrimination and exclusion within their communities. It’s a sad finding and one that we should all make a conscious effort to amend, especially during this year’s Dementia Action Week, which has the theme ‘A little support makes a lot of difference’. 75% of people surveyed who live with dementia said that people don’t keep in touch as regularly as they did before...

Dementia affects close to half a million Australians and that number is set to double in the next 25 years. This week is Dementia Action Week and HelloCare will be sharing stories each day to offer guidance and support to those who are living with dementia, and to those who care for others living with dementia. We encourage you to share these stories. We will also share daily tips and tools from Dementia Australia on our Facebook account to help you better support...

  Shortages of protective equipment and a lack of fitting masks were behind the COVID-19 infections of thousands of Victorian healthcare workers, experts have said. “Multiple failures” in the planning of PPE for healthcare workers have contributed to the infections, and there is still some way to go until the situation is fixed,” Physician Dr Michelle Ananda-rajah told ABC news this morning. She said though the situation has improved, she is still hearing reports that the masks are not...

Australians are right to be ashamed of our nation’s aged-care crisis. We owe our elders so much better. They are repositories of wisdom, vocational knowledge and tradition. They reared us, cared for us, built our workplaces and economy, defended our nation in war, and made us into the people we are. Yet the ongoing royal commission into aged care has revealed that not only was the sector completely unprepared for COVID-19, but it also is still not prepared for renewed...

  An aged care provider on the NSW Central Coast will dip into its own coffers to ensure all direct and non-direct care staff benefit from the government’s aged care retention bonus. Two months after writing to the Minister for Aged Care about the unfairness of the Retention Bonus for Aged Care Workers, the Board of Peninsula Villages has unanimously agreed to pass on the retention bonus payment to all staff, rather than only those who fall under the niche...