practical living
(Left to right) SA Health Minister Stephen Wade, Member for Heysen Josh Teague, GCMA executive
director of LifeLab Veera Mustonen, and GCMA chief executive Julianne Parkinson. Photo: GCMA
Leading the way
South Australia is forging ahead
in aged care innovation.
By Conor Burke
B
efore the nation’s eyes turned to the aged care sector with the
royal commission, South Australia had its own reckoning.
The Oakden scandal and subsequent inquiry seems to
have set off a concerted effort to lift the standards of aged care in
the state. Recent news that a select group of state facilities will trial
CCTV use has been welcomed, as has the news that Loxton in South
Australia is offering free training via its hospital for people interested
in becoming direct care attendants.
Strathalbyn, around 50km south of Adelaide, is another SA town
trying to improve the lives of aged care residents.
In March, the SA government announced a $12 million upgrade
of the Strathalbyn and District Aged Care Facility and set in motion
a co-design process, engaging with the Global Centre for Modern
Ageing (GCMA) and the Australian Centre for Social Innovation
(TACSI) to conduct and synthesise consultation with community
and stakeholders.
Julianne Parkinson, GCMA chief executive, said the SA
government has taken this opportunity to not just build a space, but
to work out how they can improve the precinct around Strathalbyn.
“It’s a regional town. The facility would normally rely on the people
inside the aged care facility,” Parkinson told Aged Care Insite.
“We’re also aware of the ageing opportunities and needs of people
who live in and around the township and in neighbouring farms.
“It was about having a brand-new conversation about what it is
that we would look for in a facility and the precinct … and using co-
design principles and techniques that encouraged the thought, the
creativity and innovation of many.”
This co-design process involved leading creative workshops with
clinicians and residents, as well as potential future residents, families
and the community at large.
“And the conversation, therefore, was a lot more inclusive
and holistic in what ageing means in and around Strathalbyn,”
Parkinson said.
The community consultation brought forth six key design
principles:
1. Home, not institution
2. Social connectedness
3. Meaning and purpose
4. Choice and control
5. Valuing people
6. Transitions.
“What was important, I think, is that it included architects,
health professionals, residents and families throughout all of it.
The architects were heavily involved in each and every one of
these scenarios. So, they were in the room, listening intently,”
Parkinson said.
SA’s minister for health and ageing, Stephen Wade, said the
work of the GCMA and TACSI have provided a unique insight into
community sentiment and will allow people to age well and be
connected to the community.
“Feeling at home, social connectedness, sense of purpose, choice
and control, valuing people, and ease of transition are all key design
principles in the report,” he said.
“Some suggestions included barbeque areas, making it easier
for residents to access kitchen facilities, making rooms feel more
homelike, enabling hobbies such as gardening as well as flexible
spaces for leisure activities and functions.”
For Parkinson, this project was about creating a place based on
community values, where people want to live, and people want to
be involved in.
This is part of a larger remit of the GCMA, which was founded
in SA in 2018 and is seeking to combat some of the issues our
communities face with ageing.
“[Strathalbyn] is one example of what we think will be nation-
leading work in design principles that we’re proud to be a part of.”
GCMA has finished work on another project, a driverless vehicle
called Aurrigo.
“We have just completed research in a retirement village in
Port Elliot into a driverless vehicle, which was trialled, viewed and
validated by the residents.”
GCMA is also engaging a major bank with a view to improving
ageing globally, and the LifeLab they have designed is being used to
foster innovation in the aged care space.
“There are people across the planet that need support and
guidance and we want to do that with evidence-based work, with
older people truly at the centre of the thinking and the innovation
that improved their lives.”
For more information on this project, or the GCMA, go to
gcma.net.au. ■
agedcareinsite.com.au 25