At the sunset of their lives our care of the aged is failing.
In this episode of Rights, Rorts and Rants, on Radio Blue Mountains 89.1FM BMUC members and their guests investigate the state of aged care in Australia as "An expert witness to the Royal Commission into Aged Care has criticised Australia's response to COVID-19 in aged care homes — saying residents have been treated as second-class citizens."
"Professor Joseph Ibrahim told the inquiry there was little understanding of the size of the threat to aged-care residents, who account for about 68 per cent of all COVID-19 deaths, despite being just 1 per cent of the population."
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-08-12/aged-care-royal-commission-hears-of-coronavirus-crisis/12549196
This week we looked at how we got to this appalling situation. We'll discuss some of the history of aged care in Australia and the effects of privatisation, casualisation, staff ratios - or the lack of them - and funding arrangements with workers in aged care, members of the NSW Nurses and Midwives' Association, the Health Services Union NSW and our own Blue Mountains Unions & Community members.
Local author, researcher and BMUC member Marilla North shares her experience of aged care - both good and bad - from the perspective of carer and advocate for her late mother, finishing with a poem she wrote which will speak to anyone who has lost a loved one to dementia.
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This episode was first broadcast on Radio Blue Mountains 89.1FM on 14th August 2020.
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Rights, Rorts and Rants is broadcast from 4pm to 6pm on 89.1FM or can be live streamed from rbm.org.au.
Disclaimer: We seek a range of perspectives but that means that views expressed in these podcasts are not necessarily endorsed by the Blue Mountains Unions Council Inc.
