Dementia Australia and consumers are calling on the federal government to adopt a set of recommendations outlining what quality aged care looks like for people living with dementia, their families and carers.
Dementia Australia delivered the report, Our Solution: Quality care for people living with dementia, to Federal Aged Care Minister Richard Colbeck today.
The guide is seeking to develop baseline and ‘gold’ standards of care in line with the new Aged Care Quality Standards, which came into effect on 1 July 2019.
Dementia Australia CEO Maree McCabe said people living with dementia wanted to ensure their voices were heard and that quality care involves them.
“This is not just about quality dementia care; it is about providing quality aged care to people living with dementia as well as their families and carers,” Ms McCabe said.
The report outlines collective consumer views against each of the eight aged care quality standards.
Dementia-specific recommendations have been applied to each standard reflecting the needs of a person living with dementia, their families and carers.
The recommendations include:
- Dementia specific training
- Shared and supported decision making that centres on the person with dementia
- Flexibility and continuity of care
- Meaningful activities to maintain a sense of community connectedness
- Providing a sense of community
- Transparent accountability for quality dementia care
The Dementia Australia report was produced with the help of material collected from a series of 31 focus groups held across Australia and a national consumer forum held in Canberra in June.
Dennis Frost, who has been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia, was involved in its development and said the government needed to listen to people living with dementia.
“People with dementia need to represent themselves and be included as equal partners and decision-makers when talking about quality care,” Mr Frost said.
