Increasing need for national carer advocacy program
Australia needs a national system of independent advocates to help families and carers represent the interests of those in care, says Carers Australia chief executive officer, Joan Hughes.
She was responding to a Four Corners program, End of the Line, aired on Monday night. The program examined failures in aged care, its effect on four families, and what it described as systemic flaws in how problems were investigated and managed.
Ms Hughes said the program had highlighted an urgent need for family carers to have access to appropriate support to help them protect those in care.
“There are national carer counselling and advisory services, and now it is time to have a national carer advocacy program,” she said.
“It is certainly time that all staff and management in the aged care facilities understand the role of carers and how to support them. However, facilities need more resources to do this”.
“It is important that families and individuals are able to access support to help them navigate the service delivery maze and this varies from state to state”.
Carers Australia supports the call by Aged and Community Services Australia to improve the complaints investigation system. In 2008, the National Aged Care Alliance (of which Carers Australia is a member and also includes providers, consumers, professional groups and unions involved in aged care) proposed redesigning the process.
Ms Hughes said advocacy was important for many issues affecting carers and those they care for, including issues regarding aged, disability and hospital care, as well as palliative care.
“None of us want to think that we will enter the later stages of our lives forgotten and uncared for, or have our concerns ignored because there’s no-one there to act on our behalf,” she said.
“The way we treat our elderly and their families says a great deal about us as a society. We need a national system of care that is well funded to meets the needs of older people and their carers”.
