industry & reform
The times they are a-changin ’
Concerns among providers as baby boomers enter care .
By Elise Hartevelt
The rapid approach of baby boomers entering aged care homes ‘ unwillingly ’ looms as experts say they ’ ll be a force to be reckoned with .
Born between 1946 and 1964 , the post-World War II generation has not been shy in voicing their discontent with the system , which last year ’ s RSL LifeCare survey underscored .
Only 3 per cent had said they would move into residential care under the current format .
Liz Gill from the University of Sydney has extensively researched aged and consumer-directed care and anticipates boomers ’ needs will significantly pressure the sector .
She says they prefer to maintain control and will make demands based on what they will and will not accept .
“ They ’ ve been very vocal about the fact that the current system is unacceptable to them ,” Gill says .
“ And since the ones born in 1946 are now 75 years of age , they ’ re rapidly starting to become the market .”
Gill says they ’ ll continue to expect high living standards when moving into aged care homes , which may strain the already stretched sector .
Providers and staff have expressed concerns about what servicing baby
14 agedcareinsite . com . au boomers will look like , considering they ’ ll likely insist on what they consider their rights .
According to Gill , only specific changes to the sector will resolve the impending issue , which must focus on empowering boomers to self-determine and self-manage .
“ We tend to think of aged care services as a sort of a box – about what they look like and how they ’ ll be delivered ,” she explains .
Yet she also points out that 82 per cent of boomers want to live at home for as long as possible .
“ We ’ ve built all these care places ; the developers are all out there with money and investing , all the while believing boomers will end up there because they are a huge market and they expect to make money [ from them ].
“ So , what will it mean to aged care providers and the market when boomers don ’ t want to enter aged care homes under the current set-up ?”
The group consisting of 5.2 million Australians is characterised as being independent , astute , resourceful , forthright and exacting , Gill says .
Despite their age , boomers are slow to replace the current generation in residential care , as over 90 per cent reported to be in good health .
“
What will it mean when boomers don ’ t want to enter aged care homes ?
Contrary to the boomers , the previous generation is associated with a silent and accepting demeanour .
Gill says the ‘ Silent Generation ’, born between the Great Depression and World War II , has quietly accepted the aged care sector in its current form .
“ They ’ re very different to the generation that precedes them .
“ As parents of baby boomers , they are classified as being adaptive and accepting and not questioning authority .
The notion that “ baby boomers are certainly not frightened to speak up ” does not only have negative connotations , according to Gill .
“ I believe what ’ s happened with the Royal Commission into Aged Care , in a previous time , would never have happened .
“ I think elder abuse happened before , has been happening over earlier times , but it ’ s never become something that ’ s come to the forefront until the baby boomers said this behaviour is unacceptable .”
Gill says that fundamentally changing the aged care sector needs to start by addressing ageism .
“ We ’ ve gone from a society before the baby boomers , where ageing was seen as a positive thing ; where you had wisdom and skills and could contribute to society .
“ Age was seen as a good thing , like aged wine .
“ Now , we ’ re seeing ageing as something undesirable – we ’ ve medicalised it , which is part of the problem . It ’ s seen almost in line with a disease . “ But it ’ s not a disease ; it ’ s just part of the normal process of life because it ’ s the cycle of life , and you mature .”
While Liz highlights the need to rethink the aged care sector , she ’ s seen a change already on its way .
“ The institutionalisation of ageing is being treated exactly the same as we had with the institutionalisation of disability or mental health 30 years ago ,” she says .
“ That whole model has been overturned and changed , and I believe that with aged care , we ’ re going to start to see that unravelled as well .
“ But it ’ s all going to depend on what the baby boomer cohort will do .” ■