In this story:
Funding for aged and palliative care collaborations
Feedback sought on changes to aged care financial reporting
Prevention and better diagnosis top dementia research priorities
World-first dementia drug trial underway in Melbourne
Renewed calls for fibre to be rolled out to all homes
Life experience an asset for the elderly in an emergency
Funding for aged and palliative care collaborations
Aged care facilities across Australia will receive Commonwealth funding to form collaborative links with palliative care services to cater for older people from diverse situations including those who are homeless or live in remote areas.
The $1.5 million Decision Assist Linkages project, which is led by QUT’s Professor Patsy Yates, will see 20 collaborative relationships established between existing organisations.
Professor Yates said the projects recognised that older people living in all types of circumstances needed access to good quality palliative care.
“This project aims to reduce inappropriate hospital admission and upskill staff so they can identify patients in need of palliative care,” she said.
In Brisbane, for example, she said many clients of community care organisation Footprints were homeless or living in supported accommodation. Historically aged care or homeless services have been unable to respond to their end-of-life needs, but Footprints would now establish firm links with other aged care and palliative care providers, she said.
“In NSW the aim is to ensure services to rural and remote, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island and culturally and linguistically diverse communities across the state. Appropriate services for the LGBTI communities in the Tweed Heads region will also be a focus.”
Victorian residential and home care provider mecwacare announced it would receive $80,000 over 12 months in partnership with Cabrini Health Palliative Care Services as part of the Decision Assist linkage project.
The funding will go toward developing a sustainable best practice model of end-of-life care provision across residential and community care settings, which could be rolled out across its and broader aged care service networks, mecwacare said in a statement.
The Decision Assist program provides education and support to GPs and aged care staff nationally to improve advance care planning and end-of-life care for older Australians. The program also includes a 24/7 telephone advisory service and website.
Feedback sought on changes to aged care financial reporting
The Department of Social Services is seeking feedback from aged care stakeholders on changes to financial reporting for aged care providers.
It has released a discussion paper outlining the proposed changes to streamline financial reporting requirements for both residential and home care providers.
Based on recommendations in ACFA’s 2014 report on improving the collection of aged care financial data, the paper proposes a Comprehensive Financial Report (CFR) consolidate and replace the General Purpose Financial Report, the Annual Prudential Compliance Statement, the Survey of Aged Care Homes and home care Financial Accountability Reports.
DSS has proposed and included mock-ups of three CFR reports, one of which a provider would complete according to their circumstances.
Submissions are due Friday 27 February 2015. Comments can be emailed to ffbconsultation@dss.gov.au
Prevention and better diagnosis top dementia research priorities
Finding ways to prevent dementia, improve diagnosis and provide better care are considered the top three priorities for future dementia research, according to a survey commissioned by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC).
Results from the survey, which sought views from consumers, researchers, medical practitioners and aged care providers around Australia, will inform the research agenda of the NHMRC National Institute for Dementia Research.
The new institute, which is funded through the Australian Government’s $200 million Dementia Research Boost, will be established in the first half of 2015 to target, coordinate and translate the national dementia research effort.
NHMRC CEO Professor Warwick Anderson said the stakeholder feedback was essential to ensuring the research undertaken through this initiative addressed the most pressing concerns and greatest needs of people with dementia and those who cared for them.
The survey and interviews found the top dementia research and translation priorities for professional care providers, senior investigators, researchers and medical practitioners was the identification of effective interventions to reduce the risk of and prevent the incidence of dementia.
The timely, accurate and supported diagnosis was the top priority for people with dementia followed by prevention as their second. While personal carers want the development of effective interventions to support their opportunity and capacity to care prioritised followed by prevention.
World-first dementia drug trial underway in Melbourne
An Australian patient with Alzheimer’s disease has become the first in the world to test a new drug that aims to both relieve symptoms and slow progression of the disease.
Alfred Health in Victoria reported it was selected by the US drug company to lead the first trial of the drug Anavex on Alzheimer’s patients because of the reputation of its clinical trials team.
Director of Aged Psychiatry at Caulfield Hospital and study lead, Associate Professor Steve Macfarlane said this trial was unique and exciting because it aimed to both improve memory and slow the disease compared to existing drug treatments, which only improved a patient’s symptoms.
Another feature of the Anavex trial is that all participants in the study will receive the active drug, he said.
Professor Macfarlane said the global race to find better treatments for Alzheimer’s disease meant phase two of the trial would be fast tracked. Results would be known within a year and, if successful, the drug could be available to thousands of patients as part of a larger clinical trial, he said.
Caulfield hospital is recruiting for trial. To be eligible, patients should have early-stage Alzheimer’s and be on the cognitive enhancer, Aricept. Outcomes will be measured through computerised cognitive tests and EEG.
Contact Michael Kornhauser, Caulfield Hospital Aged Psychiatry clinical trials coordinator, on 9076 6110 or at adclinicaltrials@cgmc.org.au.
Renewed calls for fibre to be rolled out to all homes
Labor Senator Helen Polley has renewed calls for the Federal Government to initiate a nationwide rollout of fibre to the home (FTTH) as part of the deployment of the National Broadband Network (NBN) to ensure those in rural and remote areas can access healthcare.
Senator Polley said telehealth could provide health-related services and information via telecommunications technologies such as FTTH NBN, but would be heavily compromised by the current multi-technology model.
The health of older Australians will become increasingly dependent on telehealth technology and therefore it was crucial FTTH NBN was available nationwide, she said.
“We need FTTH NBN technology for efficient and effective service delivery. Currently, there is real doubt about who will and who won’t receive FTTH NBN. Today, I am asking the government to reconsider its position,” Senator Polley said.
Life experience an asset for the elderly in an emergency
Older Australians feel more prepared in an emergency situation than their vulnerable classification suggests, according to University of Adelaide research.
Dr Victoria Cornell, a research associate with the Centre for Housing, Urban and Regional Planning, said older people were often categorised as vulnerable for emergency management but her research found the elderly had a wealth of knowledge and experience and could be highly resilient in an emergency.
The qualitative study involving nine Adelaide residents aged 77 to 90 was published in the Australian Journal of Emergency Management.
Dr Cornell said older people should be classified as a group with specific needs rather than being labelled as vulnerable.
“Vulnerabilities in disaster management are often associated with reduced physical mobility, poor eyesight or hearing, pre-existing health conditions, social isolation and low income. And while these are issues that may occur in older people, you don’t necessarily have to be elderly to experience these vulnerabilities,” Dr Cornell said.
Elsewhere the research found that elderly people were more concerned about health-related emergencies than natural disasters such as bush fires. Emergency messaging for older people should therefore be broad, Dr Cornell said.
“By understanding what influences older people living in the community to prepare for emergencies, we can move away from making assumptions, and instead develop appropriate policies and processes based on research findings,” she said.
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