-
LGBTI aged care on government agenda
I’m not sure how big the “T” component will be in this initiative – or what “T” stands for in the eyes of those promising funding. But it has to be a step in the right direction.
Form http://gaynewsnetwork.com.au/news/news-2/6036-lgbti-aged-care-on-government-agenda.html
Quote:LGBTI aged care on government agendaAuthor // Serkan Ozturk
The Australian Government will include LGBTI people as a special needs group under the Aged Care Act, and will allocate $2.5m over the next five years for LGBTI training of the aged care workforce, in an announcement greatly welcomed by the likes of ACON and the National LGBTI Health Alliance.
The provisions and funding have been included under a $3.7 billion Living Longer Living Better plan to reform the aged care sector announced last Friday by Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Minister for Ageing, Mark Butler.
Under the planned reforms, the Government has stated it will act “to ensure that sexual diversity does not act as a barrier to receiving high quality aged care in either community or residential settings”.
Leading LGBTI ageing expert, Dr Jo Harrison, a gerontologist with the University of South Australia, told SX the “tremendous milestone” was testament to the hard work of those in the community who had raised serious concerns related to LGBTI aged care and discrimination over many years, particularly older LGBTI people themselves.
“Recognition as a special needs group within the Aged Care Act represents a significant shift from virtual invisibility to a clear and solid presence in aged care at federal level in Australia,” Harrison said.
“Special needs group status will enable access to funding and increased attention within policies and programs across aged care. It will also send a strong signal to providers of aged care.”
ACON CEO Nicolas Parkhill said he was hopeful the initiatives would ensure that LGBTI people received the same standard of care as others in the community.
“ACON is delighted that the Australian Government has recognised the value in delivering training for workers who provide aged care services to LGBTI people, and for such programs to be rolled out nationally,” Parkhill said.
Alliance general manager, Warren Talbot, said training of aged care workers was “a vital initiative” and could see LGBTI aged training taking place in every state and territory over the next five years.
“The special needs of LGBTI people are often neglected. The Productivity Commission report broke new ground in recommending special provision for the LGBTI communities, and this has been accepted by the Government,” Talbot said.
“We look forward to multi-partisan support for that legislative change.”
The Alliance has also called for the development of a National LGBTI Aged Care Strategy to help co-ordinate the announced aims.
-
4 Replies
-
The reason for my skepticism in posting this thread can be seen in the third paragraph of the announcement.
Although LGBTI aged care is on the agenda…
Quote:the Government has stated it will act “to ensure that sexual diversity does not act as a barrier to receiving high quality aged care in either community or residential settings”.So if you are “T” you will get more understanding in aged care for any sexual diversity you exhibit – excellent.
But just a bit tough if you are gender diverse; and sexuality at that age is on the back burner!
-
Hi Amanda and everyone
I just wanted to reassure you that we here at the National LGBTI Health Alliance are doing our best to ensure full inclusion of all sex and gender diverse people in the aged care reforms. Unfortunately helping governments (and some LGs) understand that ‘sexual diversity’ doesn’t cover Trans and Intersex people is taking a while!
Last year, the Board of the Alliance decided the Alliance needed to have a much stronger emphasis on Sex and Gender Diversity, and Ageing and Aged Care. So I was employed as the new Health Policy Officer to focus primarily on these areas. Just for the record, I’m Trans-identified and over 50. We now have an Ageing and Aged Care Working Group; one of the members of this group is a Trans woman who actually works in aged care, and one is an Intersex person.
The Alliance held a national LGBTI Ageing and Aged Care Roundtable last October, and there was strong T & I representation, so there was full inclusion of issues for sex and gender diverse people in our conversation with the Minister and our submissions.
I’m also on the advisory group for the development of a training package for workers in the aged care sector. I’ve spent hours revising the materials to ensure full and accurate inclusion of issues for gender diverse older people (including CDs, who are often overlooked in these things).
I fight the terminology battle daily. Governments and some academics are accustomed to thinking that ‘non-heterosexual’ covers all of us, and some LG activists keep telling me not to push the government too hard to broaden their understanding. Needless to say I disagree, but there’s a lot of resistance to full inclusion – I’m sure you’ve heard it all before – but I push back as much as I can.
Anyway, if you have any specific questions about the inclusion of sex and gender diverse people in aged care, or issues you’d like to inform us about, please feel free to contact me: sujay.kentlyn@lgbtihealth.org.au.
And everyone is most welcome to join the Alliance, whether you’re an organisation or an individual. Check us out at http://www.lgbtihealth.org.au.
We know there’s a looooong way to go on full T&I inclusion, but at least we’re on the journey!
warm regards to all
Sujay
-
Sujay
Thanks for that reassuring post – nice to feel that there is some pushing back against the simplistic view that gender diversity is all about sexual preference. You certainly have my total support in that.
I also know that many members of this community have expressed concerns about what lies ahead of them in aged care. This is an example of an issue that is far more of a concern for those who do not simplify theirexpression of gender diversity by transitioning.
This journey is not a one-way street as is illustrated by this posting on the Blue Mountains GBLTI network…
Quote:Dear friends,Some time ago you might remember that a local nursing home facility owned and operated by Riviera Health won an award for it’s enlightened policy towards their LGBTI residents.
This is part of the article published by Star Online which still appears if you do a search
“A privately owned aged-care provider has been recognised for its work fostering a welcoming and inclusive environment for its residents regardless of sexuality or gender identity.
The Anita Villa nursing home in Katoomba, run by the Riviera Health group, won the ‘strategy to promote the mental health and wellbeing of residents with special needs’ category in this year’s Positive Living in Aged Care Awards organised by the Aged and Community Services Association of NSW and the ACT.
Riviera Health’s Dr Michele Chandler told Sydney Star Observer they were bowled over by the win.”
If you are looking for a facility for a partner, friend or family member, I suggest you ignore this article.
After many emails and phone calls I finally got to speak to the manager of Anita Villa and was shocked to learn that Riviera Health sold this facility quite some time ago. The manager referred to LGBTI residents as “that group of people” and it became obvious she knew nothing about the award or training for staff. She told me there are no future plans for training.
I feel very disappointed that Doctor Michele Chandler who no longer works at the nursing home and who spoke so glowingly at the Homophobia Forum in 2010 about Anita Villa, has never contacted our community to inform us about the changes at Anita Villa.
It’s time for the Federal Government to provide LGBTI nursing home residents with a “special needs category”. Many have become so afraid of discrimination that they find it safer to return to the closet. A sad reflection on our care for the aged.
-
This is very disappointing news about Anita Villa, and I’ll look into it.
But some good news is that in the reforms announced last Friday, LGBTI are to be given ‘Special Needs’ status under the Aged Care Act 1997. This means that every aged care service provider applying for government funding from now on will have to demonstrate how they plan to address the needs of this group. It also means the government will look favourably on aged care funding applications that particularly target this group.
I predict a very steep learning curve ahead for some aged care providers!!!!
