industry & reform
Lessons from LASA
Diversity, the care workforce,
and the stigma surrounding
death – these were just some
of the topics covered in this
year’s LASA congress.
By Megan Tran
A
ged Care Insite was in Adelaide
recently for the 2018 LASA
National Congress. Here’s a quick
rundown of some of the presentations.
LASA’s Monday program included
a seminar on ‘Reframing Dying in
Australia’, with a focus on how best to
address this taboo topic.
Dr Stephen Ginsborg from the Sydney
North Primary Health Network spoke of
the stigma surrounding death in Western
society. He said doctors themselves
are uncomfortable with the notion of
death, and that support staff should
be included in the dying process long
before someone passes, such as staff and
the community preparing their goodbyes.
“It can be made less difficult when we
have a competent community,” he said,
arguing for more education about death
literacy, including more understanding
about grieving, dying and mourning to
better understand care.
12 agedcareinsite.com.au
LOOKING FORWARD
LASA chief executive Sean Rooney spoke
about the rate of Australia’s rapidly ageing
population – with about 2000 people
turning 65 every week and about 1000
people turning 85.
And with more than one million older
Australians accessing services across our
aged care system every year, the demand
for services is increasing.
“Among this ageing population, we
would see great diversity, including
Indigenous Australians, different cultural
and religious groups, LGBTI Australians,
those who battle disadvantage in various
forms, and those who live in rural
and remote areas of our vast nation,”
Rooney said.
He said recruitment in the social work
sector is much like any other – mainly
through employee referral and word
of mouth.
Eastwood said selecting a candidate
involved a more nuanced process, where
you need to know how caring a person
is, explaining it was unlike a Seek job
application and that it wasn’t a ‘seagulls
around the chip’ mentality. He added
that only about 8 per cent of people are
selected through this process.
And it isn’t just about the recruiters,
he argued, as candidates are also the
customers in that they are willing to
invest time and ask a lot of questions
about the role.
AGEING WELL
GLOBAL LESSONS
The ‘Building and Keeping a Care
Workforce – Lessons from Around the
World’ session investigated how 55 per
cent of care staff employed in the aged
care services industry are closely linked to
those who need care.
“You only get it when you’ve done it,”
the author of Saving Social Care, Neil
Eastwood, said in relation to why those
candidates applied for the job.
Desmond Ford, head of programs and
business development at COTA SA, spoke
about the LGBTIQ People Ageing Well
Project, a joint 12-month initiative by
COTA SA and the SA Rainbow Advocacy
Alliance (SARAA), which was designed
to kick-start a consumer-led LGBTIQ
movement for older South Australians.
It also aimed to engage and empower
members of the older LGBTIQ community
throughout the state by giving them a