Who will care for our elderly parents?
Australians are being asked to talk to their immediate family members about how their care plans for older age, during Carers Week next week.
Australians need to break down the walls of resistance, face their fears and address the big question confronting our rapidly ageing population- who will care for our elderly parents?
Founder and director of Just Better Care, Trish Noakes, hopes that communities around the country will ask themselves and each other this difficult question and think about personal plans for older age, during Carers Week next week, from Sunday 17 to Saturday 23 October.
Ms Noakes’ call coincides with the release of findings from a survey, conducted by Just Better Care, which shows that 31 per cent of people from NSW would prefer to quit any job and commitments to provide full-time care for their parents, rather than arrange for them to be cared for in a nursing home.
“I see that as a very positive thing that so many people would want to look after a family member,” Ms Noakes said.
“It’s a significant sign. It’s a huge thing to say, ‘I’ll give up a part of my life’. It’s a lot of commitment for people. It shows that Australia, as a society, is prepared to look after their family members.”
Ms Noakes said that the results come as good news, given the expected pressures the ageing population will place upon future health systems. But, she said, it is not time to get complacent.
“I think we are in interesting times as we’ve never had a generation that has lived so long. Now, the baby boomers who are the children of our older people, have never faced the issue of [caring for their ageing parents]. There needs to be more discussion and planning as to what they are to do.
“Older parents are afraid to look at the future because now, they have got a future. That extra 10 years [we have to live] is a very different 10 years to any other 10 years in our lives so you face a lot more health and mobility issues.
“It’s a very challenging time and the first time we’ve come up against it. People are nervous and afraid of having the discussion and they aren’t making a plan about what is going to happen.”
She explained the reason for the fear is the uncertainty of old age. “No one knows what is going to happen. You don’t know if it is to be a series of events in hospital, or a whole story of difficult things ahead.
“Let’s not be afraid of the discussion. Let’s have the discussion. They are talking about the worries they have with their parents with each other, but they are not talking to their parents.”
Once a discussion starts and plans for older age are made, she said, then we can begin to understand the future needs of the community and aged care sector.
“Carers need to have a much stronger voice about what they are doing and what their needs are. We need real strategies to support them…and the older population have to talk about what is really going on and how we are going to tackle it.”
Carers Week provides an opportunity to celebrate family carers in our community, to acknowledge their contribution and to generate discussion about carer issues. For more information click here.
