industry & reform
Rainbow connections
Inside the government’s plans to improve
aged care for LGBTI seniors.
Pauline Crameri and Sam Edmonds interviewed by Conor Burke
R
ecently, the minister for senior Australians and aged care,
Ken Wyatt, announced new steps to improve aged care for
LGBTI seniors.
The Aged Care Diversity Action Plan for Senior LGBTI Australians
is aimed at catering to the needs of the one in 10 older adults
who have diverse sexual orientation, gender identity or intersex
characteristics.
This figure is seen as conservative. Studies show the number of
people identifying as sexually diverse is on the rise.
As of the 2016 census, some 1260 people identified as either
trans, intersex or non-binary – a figure the ABS admitted “is a
minimum estimate and is expected to have been substantially
under-reported”.
LGBTI aged care residents face a number of unique challenges.
Discrimination is the big fear, but so is a loss of sexual identity.
Pauline Crameri, coordinator of Val’s LGBTI Ageing and Aged
Care, says many older LGBTI people fear going into residential
aged care. In many instances, older LGBTI residents are without a
support structure or somebody to advocate on their behalf.
She adds that many LGBTI people have a higher need for a
range of support services as they age, because they don’t have the
informal supports in place.
Sam Edmonds, the national project manager at Silver Rainbow –
part of the National LGBTI Health Alliance – was involved in
developing the new framework. The Aged Care Sector Committee
Diversity Sub-Group, of which the National LGBTI Health Alliance
14 agedcareinsite.com.au
is a member, also wrote to the aged care royal commission to
voice concerns on behalf of the LGBTI community.
“We recommended consideration of a confidential, culturally
safe phone line that people could call to provide their stories,”
Edmonds told Aged Care Insite.
“In addition, it will be essential to have a counselling or other
support service in place to support LGBTI peoples, not only
those who tell their stories, but also those who have had negative
experiences and do not feel confident in telling their story but
might re-experience the trauma of the experience from being
exposed to discussions and media around the royal commission.”
Aged Care Insite spoke with Crameri about the challenges and
improvements needed to cater to the LGBTI community in aged
care, and with Edmonds about the government’s new action plan.
ACI: During Maree McCabe’s testimony at the aged care royal
commission, we heard a harrowing story of a gay couple, one
of whom developed dementia and was eventually unable to
recognise his partner and almost went back to a time when he
was in a previous heterosexual marriage. That’s obviously one
issue that faces the LGBTI community in aged care. What are
some of the others?
PC: There’s a whole range of issues we’re aware of through
research, particularly over the last 10 years. We know that many
older LGBTI people are really fearful of going into residential aged
care – and although we could say that is the same throughout the
community, I think the stakes are a lot higher for LGBTI people.
From the research, we know that LGBTI people potentially have
a higher need for a range of support services as they age, because
they don’t have a lot of those informal supports in place that many
other people may have. By that, I mean children and particularly
family of origin.
There is a high likelihood that they will need support services,
but there seems to be a real absence of knowledge about
those low-level support services that can keep you living within
the community and living at home – like the Commonwealth
Home Support Programme and home care packages. Coupled
with that, I would say that even if people do know about those
services, there is still somewhat of a fear based on their historical
experiences of discrimination and accessing services.