Article date: 18 Sep 2023
For Dementia Australia's 2023 Dementia Action Week, AAG with HammondCare are delighted to present:
Caring for dementia at home - a continuum of relationships and care
The Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety emphasised how important it was to create pathways and supports for people with dementia, to live at home for as long as possible. Within that carers needed access to navigate systems and access appropriate respite. For many carers, respite was seen as a negative support rather than a necessary option that actually enabled wellbeing and ongoing care at home. And the unfortunate consequence of supporting complex care needs means for residential care providers they now use residential respite as a ‘try before you buy’ approach rather than being used to facilitate much-needed breaks in caring arrangements. A perfect storm in the care continuum.
This webinar will unpack the numbers and impact of people living with dementia in home and community environments, what that means across the broad and diverse Australian populations. From regional and rural to metro settings what is the optimal support that can be provided and when more care is needed what are the options. Exploring the innovative Staying at Home program which was developed in recognition of the multiple barriers to accessing respite services will showcase the ability to instil a sense of confidence in family carers to use respite, increase their capacity to understand changes to behaviour, and support carer wellbeing, whilst providing support and learning for the person living with dementia. Transitions in care and optimal clinical and community supports will be explored and participants will have the opportunity to learn more about the role of dementia behaviour programs in supporting people to stay at home, whilst recognising that dementia impacts us all.
- Understand the impact of dementia at home
- Explore the barriers to accessing home care supports including respite and the impact
- Consider the evolution of carer needs in the current demographics
- Develop an understanding of behaviour changes related to dementia in the community setting and service to support.
Our panellists:
- Steve Macfarlane, Head of Clinical Services for Dementia Support Australia,
- Holly Markwell, National Program Manager for Dementia Support Australia’s Staying at Home Program, and
- Tom Gauci,
Regional Manager with Dementia Support Australia.
- Facilitated by Jenny Summerton, National Program Manager - Dementia Support Australia.
Follow this button for information about our panellists
Follow this button to access the recording