If I had a ‘blank’ cheque…

If you had a ‘blank’ cheque, what would you do with it? Dr Kate Cornick, University of Melbourne’s executive director of the Institute for a Broadband Enabled Society, says she would reform Australia’s aged care system.

“If I had a blank cheque I would take my closest friends and family on a luxury holiday and after a few relaxing weeks away I’d return to Australia, roll up my sleeves and reform aged care,” Dr Cornick writes on The Conversation website, which is a website allowing leading researchers to reveal what they would do in their discipline if money was no object.

Dr Cornick says it is “no secret” that Australia, like many other countries around the world, has a looming aged care crisis.

Over the next 45 years the number of Australians aged over 65 years is expected to double.

“There is no doubt we will need more health care services to cater for our ageing population,” she continues.

According to Dr Cornick, a blank cheque would provide the opportunity to build more hospitals and residential aged care facilities, and provide greater incentives to recognise the important work of those who deliver health care – in particular, nurses and allied health professionals.

However, she admits that such an investment would not address the aged care crisis that is “already upon us”, asserting any solution to the aged care crisis cannot rely on “new buildings” alone – it has to address the lack of facilities and social structures to support people as they age.

She quotes Recommendation 9.5 in the Caring for Older Australians report, released by the federal government’s Productivity Commission last week, which stated:

“The Australian, state and territory governments should promote the expanded use of in-reach services to residential aged care facilities and the development of regionally or locally-based visiting multi-disciplinary health care teams.”

“We need to rethink how to support people as they age well, by allowing them to remain independent and able to participate in society, while receiving enhanced health services,” Dr Cornick says.

A blank cheque could also transform the aged care sector by funding the “development and deployment of broadband-enabled technologies”.

“The broadband-enabled technologies I would develop and deploy would provide a better interface to access a seamless and connected health sector – video conferencing between homes and local GPs or specialists, for example,” she suggests.

These technologies would not use computers and keyboards as interfaces but would instead make use of TVs, mobile phones and tablets with seamless and intuitive interfaces featuring voice and facial recognition.

“By changing a TV channel, or by using a simple voice command, people would be able to “call” their friends, family, carers or doctors for a videoconference,” Dr Cornick says.

She alleges broadband-enabled technologies would also assist older people to continue to contribute to their community; and says “these technologies are not novel – they are very much here today”.

Dr Cornick lists companies such as Microsoft, Cisco, Polycom, Ericsson, Huawei and others as already having the technology that could deliver broadband-enabled aged care solutions, providing better access to health care services and generally supporting the ageing.

“There are many reasons why we aren’t already seeing broadband-enabled aged care in Australia. For one, these technologies are cutting-edge with high costs and new business models have not been fully developed,” she claims.

Further research is also needed to understand how such technologies might be introduced, and how issues of digital illiteracy in many facets of society – not just the elderly – can be overcome.

“If broadband-enabled technologies that support ageing well are to be successful, we need to facilitate uptake and broader understandings of their capabilities by older persons, patients, carers, family members, government, the health workforce and the broader community,” Dr Cornick says.

The Institute for a Broadband-Enabled Society is developing some of these technologies in partnership with industry and other research partners such as the National Ageing Research Institute.

“Our interdisciplinary research program is bringing together engineers, health professionals, gerontologists, sociologists and health professionals, all to ensure Australia moves towards a better aged care system.

“A blank cheque will help us get there faster, but I sincerely hope that by the time I am using the aged care system, my experience will be far superior to that which is available today,” she says.

If you had a blank cheque – and money was no object – what would you do with it? Share your suggestions in the comment box below.