Empowered clients, empowered organisation
Well known broadcaster Phillip Adams has told community care providers that they need to give their clients a sense of power and control.
Community care providers need to put a greater emphasis on empowering their clients according to well known author, filmmaker and broadcaster, Phillip Adams.
Speaking at the Aged and Community Services Australia (ACSA) Community Care Conference on the Gold Coast, Mr Adams said a sense of power and control is a fundamental human need.
“The idea of having power is so intense and so strong that if the person sitting next to you on an aeroplane colonises the armrest, you want to knock their lights out,” he said.
“One thing you [as an industry] have to do is to make sure that the people receiving care from you have a sense of power.”
Mr Adams also told providers that they need to boost their profile within the broader community.
“One of the biggest issues you face is how you make Australians aware of the scale of the work you do and the size of the problem you face,” he said.
Mr Adams said people tend to ignore the challenges associated with an ageing population in the same way they ignore other pressing issues like climate change.
“We face the same problem with personal mortality,” he said. “We like to think that ageing and disability won’t affect us but it is inevitable that everyone will come in contact with them in their life.”
Mr Adams said aged care groups should get in contact with local media organisations to talk about the positive activities they are involved in.
“I reckon you all have a personal responsibility as part of your role to talk constantly to people with media connections,’ he said.
He said it was inevitable that the media would report on negative incidents in aged care.
“But you have got to understand that you have to have a countervailing story to offer.
“You’ve got to turn what you do into what it actually is: a huge political movement.”
