Caring for older Australians: new publication

More than 1,000 copies of a new publication focusing on care workers for older people in the community and how to improve their skills base is ready for distribution.

The Benevolent Society and the University of New South Wales Social Policy Research Centre have developed: Caring for older Australians: Care workers and care practices that support and enable good care which contains evidence-based ideas, designed to be easily incorporated into the day-to-day work of community care workers.

The publication uses Australian and international research to assist aged care providers recognise the value and contribution of care workers and provides advice on how they may be able to better include them in organisational processes.

The suggested strategies include:
* Valuing care workers by recognising their experience through taking their skills into account when matching them with clients;
* Providing flexibility for care workers to spend appropriate time listening to the needs of their clients and organise care with this in mind;
* Continuity of care that allows workers to care for one person over time through improved rostering; and
* To include and consider care workers in the organisational policies and processes such as travel time, staff meetings, communication channels and ongoing training.

The briefing paper is the first in a series designed to improve staff skills, training and the levels of care available to older Australians in the community. Planned other topics for the briefing paper series include:
* Older people’s social networks;
* Preventing and responding to elder abuse, and
* An enabling approach to community aged care.

 For more information visit www.bensoc.org.au