Aged care not in their DNA: A damning report the government cannot ignore
It is not as though we haven’t been forewarned about the urgent need to attend to the crisis in aged care.
Numerous reports, over many years, have shown that the sector is in dire need of attention.
That the government is so reluctant to address any of the problems brings shame on them and our nation.
For a country that has enjoyed so much success in so many areas, it is sometimes more appropriate to put this down to luck rather than industrious thinking by government.
Despite words of assertive action by the government it is hard to see that, given its reluctance to spend a dollar that might affect its need for a public relations surplus, that they will have the money to spend on aged care. And I mean real money
The interim report by the Royal Commission into Australia’s Aged Care sector found that “cruel and harmful” attitudes prevailed.
That it has been so for many years is, without doubt, a smear on the nation.
The report also said that the sector was “fragmented, unsupported, underfunded,” and very much unsafe and uncaring.
That we could be so uncaring of the needs of our most vulnerable citizens who are at the end of their lives is tantamount to a crime against humanity.
The responsibility for this shame, this “shocking tale of neglect” as the two commissioners Richard Tracey and Lynelle Briggs have described is the result of many years of neglect.
The report described the industry as having a “culture of ageism.”
What a way to describe the treatment of our aged seniors as the sunset of life sets upon them; a time that should be as loving as their beginning.
The Interim Report released on Thursday, titled Neglect, listed a litany of problems that the commission described as needing urgent attention. “Unkind and uncaring,” “a shocking tale of neglect” were among the words of condemnation of the government’s inaction.
“The neglect that we have found in this Royal Commission, to date, is far from the best that can be done. Rather, it is a sad and shocking system that diminishes Australia as a nation.”
The report also said that Australia’s aged care sector might not be financially sustainable.
How embarrassing it must be for the minister, let alone the government, to hear these words of judgement after nearly 7 years of conservative neglect.
To say that they must feel dreadful for the appalling way they have allowed the treatment of our aged to go on unchecked would be futile.
They have done it deliberately, for several reasons, all of which relate to economics.
The first of course, and most current, is that to spend the money needed to correct what needs to be done would mean the prevention of a surplus and the second also includes the conservative philosophical principle that such things should be paid for by the individual or his/her family.
Do you think we would ever have a National Health Scheme or an NDIS without Labor? Of course not. These things are deeply ingrained in Labor’s blood.
It was only the budget before last that the Coalition removed the $1000 funeral benefit paid to pensioners to help with the cost of burying their loved ones. How pitiful. On this, the report said that:
“By any measure, this is a cruel and discriminatory system, which places great strain on older Australians and their relatives.”
“It is shocking that the express wishes of older people to remain in their own homes for as long as possible, with the supports they need, is downplayed with an expectation that they will manage. It is unsafe practice. It is neglect.”
The report rightfully confronts what it describes as our country’s “ageist” mindset, a culture that has led to an irrelevant view of how we see ageing and end of life ethics.
Too often we view our ageing relatives as a burden, an obligation, even an encumbrance without a thought for their life’s journey and our involvement in it. The report surmises that:
“As a nation, Australia has drifted into an ageist mindset that undervalues older people and limits their possibilities.”
There is a moral obligation on Australians to care for the aged that we have never taken seriously. We have allowed self-interest, even the selfishness of inheritance to invade our thinking instead of the clear-mindedness of love.
Why we find such compelling reasons to treat each other badly is beyond me.
Even when old and frail the difference between being alive and truly living can still, with proper care, be experienced.
A commitment to social justice demands the transformation of social structures as well as our hearts and minds.
Although Labor are not lily-white in this area, having shown little interest when in power, it can mount a defence with its many reforms in other areas.
The Coalition’s neglect, however, cannot be excused. They need to invest heavily in those areas the Commission has identified.
This in part requires for fundamental reform of the system with more home care packages, action to respond to the significant over-reliance on chemical restraints in the sector and removing young people with disabilities from aged care. The report concludes that:
“By any measure, this is a cruel and discriminatory system, which places great strain on older Australians and their relatives.”
After nearly 7 years in power, this is yet another example of just how inept this government has been. They deserve the strongest condemnation by the public and those involved in the sector.
Note. As Treasurer Scott Morrison in 2016 ripped $1.6 B.J. from the aged care sector.
My thought for the day
We can sometimes become so engrossed in our own problems that we can easily overlook the enormity of the suffering of others.
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