Aged care ‘revolution’
The aged care industry is not only undergoing important reform, it is on the edge of a revolution, according to the chief executive of an aged care peak body. The comment was made ahead of the 22nd Annual Tri-State Conference that began in Albury on Sunday, and is aptly themed Aged Care: Reform or Revolution.
The aged care industry is not only undergoing important reform, it is on the edge of a revolution, according to the chief executive of an aged care peak body.
Patrick Reid, Leading Age Services Australia chief executive, made the comments ahead of the 22nd Annual Tri-State Conference that began in Albury on Sunday, which is aptly themed Aged Care: Reform or Revolution.
“The aged services industry is undergoing its biggest reforms in history, consequences of which will revolutionise the way we position ourselves as an industry and the provision of services to our ageing population – no matter where they live,” Mr Reid said.
“Reform is a slow movement towards improvement; a revolution is a more sudden, momentous shift in a situation – I believe we are beginning to experience the latter,” he added.
“Our position is quickly shifting from being a niche industry, to being an integral part of the broader Australian health system, and as an industry we need to work with government to ensure we achieve greater access to quality care and services for our older Australians.”
According to Mr Reid, now is the time to start thinking differently.
“We know we have an ageing population and we need to use this emerging shift as a driver for innovation and movement towards a more integrated system,” he said.
The conference will provide a forum to discuss the emerging revolution, challenge traditional thinking and debate other key issues important to age services.
More than 400 aged care professionals were expected to come together from Victoria, NSW and South Australia for the three day event.
A highlight of the program will be a panel session lead by conference facilitator, Julie McCrossin, where aged care experts, representatives and senior Department of Health and Ageing staff will discuss their views on the position of the industry.
The conference also featured key presentations from Susan Pascoe AM on the new Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Taskforce and Janelle Bloom from Channel Ten’s Ready, Steady Cook presenting on food and nutrition in aged care.
Author and social innovator, Rachel Botsman, will close the conference today with a presentation on the age of unprecedented change that the industry is facing, and the opportunities arising to innovate and reinvent the ways older people receive care.
Stay tuned for DPS News reports on the conference.
