industry & reform
We should be celebrating the contribution of these unpaid and long ignored heroes of the aged care field in this country . At home they provide the backup and certainty every day , as well covering nights and weekends when community care services are not in action .
In residential care , too , carers remain vital – providing emotional support , social connection and personal meaning , as well as important practical support for which paid staff cannot substitute .
Survey research published by Carers Australia has shown that carers have borne a disproportionate share of the responsibility during the pandemic : yet they have received almost no recognition . The results of the 2020 Carers Survey found that although 60 per cent provided 40 hours care or more per week , and 78 per cent at least 20 hours , 40 per cent of those caring for older family members were not asked about their own needs . Although the long awaited Carer Gateway has been touted as a significant
“ The failure to
acknowledge and respect the contribution of carers should be a national concern of the first order .
new resource for all carers , the majority of those surveyed had either never heard of it ( 44.1 per cent ) or knew of it but never found a use for it ( 42.7 per cent ). Yet almost 60 per cent of carers reported that their needs were not considered by services who provide support for their loved one .
These problems are not isolated . A review of this evidence led Dementia Australia to release a report which contained poignant recommendations that
“ people living with dementia [ need to ] have access to their designated carers ”.
Essential visits , the report argues , must be safely integrated back into residential aged care settings . Further , the report calls for aged care providers to be supported to provide relevant social support ( not just nursing care ) and to ensure that family visits continue as a means to “ promote inclusion , meaningful participation and social connectedness ”.
Before we end the year by congratulating ourselves again for surviving the pandemic so well in Australia , we need to make sure that we have got the basics right . Going beyond the current crisis truly needs must , of course , ensure we have a financially sustainable system . But it must also ensure the approach is based on recognising service users , their unpaid family carers and the staff of aged care services . ■
Michael Fine is an honorary professor at Macquarie University .
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