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Aged Care -
Australia
INDEX
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Aged Care - A National
Disgrace
The contempt in which successive governments have treated
our Senior Citizens (Older Australians) can at best be described as a National disgrace.
These men and women fought and survived world wars,
depressions, droughts, floods and numerous other adversities known to man... and then some.
It was their blood, sweat and tears that created an economy that was the envy of the
modern world. It was in an era of, if you were fortunate enough to have a job:
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No overtime
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No sick pay
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No 17.5%
loadings
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No holidays
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No strikes |
But what have they seen for all their
hardships?
As they reached retirement age, having struggled and toiled,
for most, over 50 years, contributing by way of income taxes to finally receive the Aged
Pension, the real struggle began. The government, obviously believing that;
'... you entered the world with nothing, you
will leave the world with nothing'
systematically and without compassion, eroded their
entitlement to where today, it is but a pittance.
The government MUST realise
that the welfare and care of Australia's Senior Citizens is of concern to everybody. In
the past 5 years the Aged Pension has increased by a meagrely $7.50 per week.
The exceptions to the above are the salary increases,
massive superannuation payouts, lurks and perks attributed to themselves - the politicians
- often voted upon in the dead of night to avoid public scrutiny, to ensure their own
comfortable lifestyle.
The Government Policy:
The Government is committed to maintaining the single rate
of pension at 25 per cent of Male Total Average Weekly Earnings (MTAWE) and has included
provision for this commitment in the Budget Forward Estimates.
This commitment ensures that pensioners and specified
allowees share in improvements in community living standards, as measured by MTAWE. It is
an important measure for women, given their high representation in pensioner groups; for
example, nearly 66 per cent of age pensioners are women.
Pensions and allowances will also continue to be indexed
twice a year in March and September according to movements in the Consumer Price Index
(CPI).
The announcement by the Prime Minister (30/11/97), that a
$1.3 billion land fund has been made available to aboriginals, who do not have
legitimate land claims, is a blatant abuse of taxpayer money.
The Australian Pensioner, who HAS
a legitimate claim, is ignored in favour of minority groups and foreign aid. The
government does not understand the needs of our Senior Citizens or the vital role they
play in our communities.
It is the right of every Australian Senior Citizen, not
privilege, to enjoy the best possible health care, and must include:
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Doctor of their
choice
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Pharmaceutical
concessions
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Optical services
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Dental care
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Podiatry care
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Physiotherapy
services
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Chiropractic
services
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The government MUST
implement an immediate and substantial increase to the base Pension Allowance, and review
the index in real term's, not hypothetical (CPI) figures.
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Aged
Care Facilities
I
firmly believe Aged Care Facilities must
always have a Registered Nurse (RN) on each residential wing per shift. The
reasoning behind this is Enrolled Nurses (EN) do not have the same degree of
knowledge of medical conditions or medications as registered nurses (RN).
Enrolled nurses (EN) do not have the same knowledge to manage such things as
respiratory distress, cardiac arrest, medication allergies as registered nurses.
The
facilities need to have not only a registered nurse on each shift but that
registered nurse needs to have completed a post graduate certificate on aged
care, as these clients have complex needs such as continence management, dietary
control (manage intake and output), pressure area management, hygiene issues and
emotional needs.
The
staff needs to be qualified in supporting both clients and families when
palliative as well as the emotional stress that families have when placing a
loved one in care. This very important role cannot be delivered by a staff
member whose only qualification is a TAFE certificate, the staff need to have
appropriate qualifications, as the staff members need to be able to debrief as
well.
Facilities
have a duty of care both to clients and staff that they have a safe environment
and have a staff client ratio that is developed and managed to provide that
necessary nursing care to all clients.
It
is well documented that it is preferable to have permanent staffing or a pool of
casual nursing staff in aged care facilities so that clients feel safe and
secure and recognise the staff member.
I
understand that there may an occasion when it is difficult to find staff but
whereever possible a casual pool could be made available of staff who have had
an orientation in the unit. This provides the client with a continuum of care.
Most
clients in an aged care facility are coming to terms with being separated from
family and their home and it is important that they feel secure and safe in
their new environment.
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