Older People Policy

Principles

1. Social justice demands that the negative myths and stereotypes associated with the ageing process be dispelled. Discrimination based solely on age should be legislated against, particularly in the areas of employment, education, accommodation, commercial transactions (e.g. insurance provision), advertising, community and social activities, health and hospital services.

2. The Greens NSW believe that the development of such measures should include extensive consultation with older people and their representative organisations.

3. The Greens NSW support mechanisms to facilitate full participation for older people in community life, and protection against abuse, exploitation and discrimination.

4. Revelations of wide spread abuse and exploitation in residential aged care facilities is a matter of grave concern. The Greens NSW believe that stronger legislation is required to tighten the regulation of residential aged care facilities to protect the basic human rights and dignity of residents.

5. The Greens NSW endorse the World Health Organisation's view of health as "a complete state of physical, social and emotional well-being, not just the absence of disease". Therefore, health policies should focus on health promotion and quality of life issues (including social isolation, loss of independence and environmental factors) as well as primary health care and the management of chronic illness and disease.

6. Health and community services for frail people and older people at risk, and their carers, should be integrated to increase awareness of services and enable them to make informed choices.

Goals

7. While the Greens NSW welcome existing Commonwealth funding for Carelink Centres across the country to provide a “one stop shop” information and referral service for older people, we believe that there remains an unmet need for further provision of information for older people on various formal and informal, public and private services, and on facilities that could enhance their lives and give them a range of opportunities.

8. The Greens NSW support the retention and safe-guarding by older people of control over decisions concerning their lives through access to an advocate and ensuring access to information about their rights and to formal complaints systems.

9. The issues of abuse and neglect of older people should be addressed as a matter of urgency. We support an investigation of the adoption in NSW of initiatives such as the Queensland Elder Abuse Prevention Unit and the incorporation of elder abuse in domestic violence legislation.

10. The Greens NSW support maintaining a high level of social infrastructure and resources to meet the needs of frail older people. People (and their communities) in need of support would be responsible for prioritising and allocating those resources.

11. In particular, The Greens NSW believe that expenditure on public housing and on social infrastructure are vital for older people. Not only does more public housing need to be built, but also increased expenditure is required on social infrastructure and has to be in place along with the housing, to avoid isolation and lack of services, problems especially apparent in areas such as Sydney's south-western suburbs.

12. Programs should be implemented to provide support for carers, so that the carers are able to seek other employment, to carry out their daily roles, or act as carers from a position of choice, not necessity.

13. There is a need to develop regional services, from a local base, which are user-controlled, flexible and financially viable. These services must recognise the diversity of community and individual preferences and be sensitive to cultural, religious, social and time-of -life factors which influence people's definition of need.

14. Provision of care should operate in a framework which protects both the interests of the individual and the carer, promotes health, and ensures each has access to a decent standard of living, and provides a high standard of accommodation, support services, civil and political rights and medical treatment.

15. The Greens NSW believe that residential aged care facilities should be an option for older people who need care and that this choice should be able to be made by the older person and their carers without feelings of guilt or neglect. Responsibility for care can be maintained and shared provided a human scale of residential care is developed. Family members should be encouraged to act in concert with professionals to provide mutually agreed levels and types of service. The individual's perception of need must be one of the major criteria in assessing eligibility for access to a nursing home.

16. Residential aged care needs to be vastly improved to bring it up to the level of other forms of care. The accreditation process of residential aged care facilities needs to be reviewed and improved so that all aspects including fire safety provisions, staffing levels, building conditions and payment of nurses are brought up to an acceptable level. All forms of residential aged care need to be assessed to ensure quality and affordability for clients.

17. The Greens NSW recognise the need for older home owners on fixed income to have access to affordable home maintenance services. Lack of these services can lead to stress, induced physical health breakdown and premature admission to residential accommodation, as well as contributing to the degradation of inner urban housing stock.

18. Accessibility to public and private buildings and safety within those buildings is a basic human right. Building codes must reflect the need for all structures to avoid presenting a barrier to the mobility of older people. Shopping centres and bathrooms are of particular significance.

Detail

The Greens NSW will work to:
19. Maintain the Home and Community Care Program (HACC);

20. As a minimum, implement an immediate 20% increase in the funding of Home and Community Care (HACC) with further sustained increases to meet the needs of an ageing population as part of a joint state-federal responsibility;

21. Ensure the state government seeks Aboriginal assistance in devising ways of using funds flexibly to provide culturally appropriate aged care services for older Aboriginal people;

22. Improve access for older people to formal and informal educational opportunities, including:

22.1 Community education, community arts programs and literary skills upgrading;

22.2 Continuing education (Adult Education, School for Seniors, University of the Third Age);

22.3 The involvement of older people in the planning, implementation and evaluation of programs relevant to them; and

22.4 Stability in funding and service delivery in these programs;

23. Promote flexible services to meet changing needs and community aspirations;

24. Initiate an evaluation with adequate user representation of the effectiveness and efficiency of aged care services;

25. Extend home maintenance services and housing finance and reduce waiting times for appropriate public housing for older people in need;

26. Increase funding for hospital, residential aged acre facilities and community care facilities for older people;

27. Increase clinical consultations in homes;

28. Examine the need for legislation to govern the financial arrangements, planning processes, standards and operation of retirement villages;

29. Develop legislation, in consultation with older people and their representative organisations, to further regulate the operation of nursing homes to guard residents from abuse and neglect;

30. Investigate the establishment of small 'home like' residential care units, especially in rural areas, with adequate professional staffing to complement (not supplement) the continuing provision of care by family members and community (such a model would also meet the needs of people suffering from Alzheimer's disease, many of whom are inappropriately accommodated in large nursing homes);

31. Increase funding to acquire and/or build and appropriately service a range of supported accommodation options;

32. Significantly increase funding for appropriate public housing options for older persons, together with appropriate social and support infrastructure;

33. Review options for housing (including adaptable housing design and communal living arrangements) and assistance with living, in recognition of the change in functions of hostels and other housing provisions for the aged in the overall balance of care;

34. Extend respite services operating across the State by:

• 34.1 Enabling day care centres to provide after-hours respite and respite on weekends;

• 34.2 Increasing the level of respite funding to encourage nursing homes to provide more respite;

• 34.3  A further expansion of respite booking services operated by Aged Care Assessment teams; and

• 34.4 Introducing special services for those suffering from dementia, and their carers;

35. Implement the highest level of protection against violence towards older people, including:

• 35.1 Incorporation of legislative protection for older people into the domestic violence legislation;

• 35.2 All material relating to family violence to cover the needs of older people;

• 35.3 Investigation of alternative models of protection including the Queensland Elder Abuse protection Unit;

• 35.4 Research into the problem of abuse of older people and the establishment of a task force to formulate strategies for action; and

• 35.5 A review of the 1995 NSW Interagency Protocols on the identification, management and reporting of abuse, leading to a legislative basis for the elimination of abuse including strong support for mandatory reporting as occurs in child abuse;

36. Fund the education of clinical practitioners and their research;

37. Provide appropriate funding for all aged care services to disseminate information on the management of the particular problems of aging relating to mobility and mental and bodily functions. In particular, funding for Continence Advisory Services to widely publish material on continence management would assist those whose finances do not allow for the purchase of continence aids;

38. Provide adequate funding for carers support services including education, self-care programs, flexible and affordable respite care and network groups to help address the problems associated with the isolation of carers and recognition of their status, in particular for those living in rural, remote and isolated locations;

39. Establish an independent review of the Guardianship Board to investigate allegations that it has exerted unwarranted and unnecessary control in cases where older people and their families were capable of managing their own affairs; 

40. Provide adequate public funding to support and enhance the social options for older people;

41. Improve coordination between all government departments involved in the delivery of services to older people;

42. Establish appropriate standards that facilitate the access of older people to all public and private buildings and facilities; and

43. Increase funding for more publicly owned and operated residential care facilities.