industry & reform
Helping hand
Dementia Australia releases
‘help sheets’ for providers and
carers to navigate coronavirus.
By Conor Burke
W
ith new government restrictions
placed on who can enter
aged care facilities, providers
will be asking themselves how they can
keep residents engaged and healthy, both
mentally and physically.
With the spread of COVID-19, any non-
essential staff are banned from entering
aged care facilities, including entertainers,
and school children.
Also, visits with friends and families have
been limited to two per day with time
restraints placed at the provider’s discretion.
Dementia Australia chief Maree McCabe
believes this change in routine will be
particularly hard on those with dementia.
“It’s really important that, wherever
possible, we can keep that routine steady in
times of lockdown,” she says.
“One of those ways is, where they’re used
to having visitors at a particular time, have
their family member or loved one phone in
and speak to them over the phone.”
McCabe adds that it’s Dementia Australia’s
intention to support providers in every way
it can “to ensure that people living with
dementia are well supported”.
“I’ve had calls from providers letting
us know what they’re doing, how they’re
managing the situation, asking for advice
about how they can manage some of the
challenges and changes of routine.
“We’ve been providing that advice and
supporting them in every way we can.
“These really are extraordinary times, and
I’ve not seen anything like this in my lifetime.”
McCabe is urging providers to do all they
can to find alternative ways to keep residents
with dementia in touch with society. To aid
them, Dementia Australia has released ‘help
sheets’ to navigate these tough times.
“There is confusion in the community
and new rules announced daily to keep
pace with this rapidly evolving situation,”
McCabe says. “For people living with
dementia, this can create even more
uncertainty. We have developed these help
sheets to provide clarity on what people can
do to achieve the best possible outcomes
for people living with dementia.”
The sheets include tips for people living
with dementia, for carers, friends and family,
for providers, and for home care providers.
“We’re also doing call-outs to some
of those people to ensure that they have
everything they need, and if they don’t, how
we can best support them,” McCabe says.
“Some of our face-to-face programs
and services will move to being online for
a period of time, so that we’re minimising
the risk of spreading infection or our staff
contracting infection.” ■
2020 AMH Aged
Care Companion
COMING SOON
The AMH Aged Care Companion is a
trusted, practical reference for nurses and
health professionals who work with older people.
It contains the latest evidence-based information on the
management of more than 70 conditions common in older people.
The new release includes a number of changes. Those that may be
of interest: updated topics including behavioural and psychological
symptoms of dementia (BPSD), epilepsy, heart failure, immunisation,
type 2 diabetes and urinary tract infections.
The 2020 Book and Online release is 30th April 2020.
Go to www.amh.net.au for more information.
10 agedcareinsite.com.au