Connecting the pieces - A diversity, wellness & reablement podcast

Clinical Governance is fundamental to maintaining and improving the quality of care provided.   It encompasses the frameworks and processes designed to ensure that care is delivered safely, effectively, and inclusively.  Joining us in this episode is Claire Edwards, an experienced Consultant in healthcare management and governance, and Co-founder of b.school4homecare. Claire brings a wealth of kno...

Trauma is a pervasive experience that can affect people of all ages, genders, backgrounds, and walks of life, including older people.  In this episode we focus on the importance of being trauma aware and informed when delivering aged care services and supports.   We discuss the different experiences of trauma for some older people, and consider how these might impact, or present as barriers for an...

A new rights-based approach will soon be introduced to the aged care system.  This approach will underpin the new Aged Care Act and will guide the development and delivery of aged care system into the future.   So, what is a rights-based approach?  Why is it important?  How will it impact the way services are delivered, and importantly what will it means for older people who access aged care servi...

When working with multicultural and multi-faith people and communities it’s important to consider their cultural needs, preferences, and beliefs in order to create a safe environment, and ensure the delivery of appropriate and inclusive services.  In this episode, Geraldine Jeremiah, Access and Support Worker at the Migrant Information Centre (Eastern) shares her wealth of experience working with...

A strengths-based approach is a way of thinking, or the lens through which we approach the support and interactions that we have with clients - focusing on the positive attributes of a person or a group, rather than the negative.  In practice, it’s about understanding and acknowledging that a person’s skills, knowledge, their interests, and their support systems; are their strengths.  And we can u...

Understanding the vocabulary of diversity & inclusion is an important first step towards ensuring the concepts or ideas that sit behind the language are applied when working with older people. In this episode we explore the language and terminology used in the diversity and inclusion space and provide some straightforward explanations, examples and definitions. Specifically, we look at languag...

Making Elders feel safe, secure and supported needs to be a priority for all services, but how many are in a position to offer the individualised level of care required? We are privileged to have Elke Smirl CEO of Mullum Mullum Indigenous Gathering Place to guide us through this episode and present practical, engaging and effective ways to make this possible. Elke, a very proud descendant of both...

We all aim for our services to be welcoming and we want to create environments that make people feel comfortable and safe.  However, we can unintentionally create barriers for people, reinforcing their concerns that our service or our staff maybe unwelcoming, unsafe or unable to help.  In this final episode of our three-part series about inclusive practice for older Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transge...

Aged care assessments (at all levels) help service providers to understand who a person is, what’s important to them and what they need in order to live as independently as possible.  Assessments should be grounded in inclusive and respectful conversation where older Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex people feel heard, confident, and empowered to be involved in discussion and decisi...

Creating equitable and culturally safe access to services for older Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender or Intersex people requires us to understand and respond to the access barriers experienced by the LGBTI community. At both an organisational and personal level, this means implementing real change that addresses the history of inequity and discrimination to create environments that are welcomin...

Good nutrition is essential for all of us, but even more important as we age. Despite this there is still limited knowledge within the general community and the aged care sector about the role of a dietician and the valuable support they can offer. In this episode, we welcome Lisa Renn, National Clinical Lead for Dietetics at EACH who shares her passion and expertise in working with older people t...

If we are to truly create inclusive and welcoming environments, it is important that people are comfortable to be themselves and know they are appreciated and respected. It is for this reason that we say it is necessary to celebrate, not tolerate diversity. In this episode, Dale and Lisa will discuss the approach to celebrating diversity, the role it plays in creating equitable dynamics between pe...

To be connected to their community, organisations need to learn about the diversity, experiences and aspirations of people living in their local area. They need to ensure there is representation of the local community within their clients, staff and volunteers.  Understanding these demographic profiles, identifying areas of underrepresentation and responding to the experiences of local people is a...

Applying a diversity lens across service planning, design and delivery involves thinking about diversity in a way that focuses on who a person is and what’s important to them, ensuring each consumer’s experience is individualised and responsive. It challenges us to find the systemic issues that create barriers and inequality, and it dispels the myth that some communities are “hard to reach”. In th...

In the third of our series exploring ageism and elder abuse we speak with Sue McGrath Senior Policy Advisor to the Older Australians Campaign at The Benevolent Society to discuss ageism in the workplace. Sue explains the ways in which ageism manifests in the workplace, shares her insights and experiences campaigning for improved workplace practices and highlights the benefits to employers and empl...

World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD) is recognised each year on 15 June to highlight one of the worst manifestations of ageism and inequality in our society, elder abuse. In this podcast Jill Exon, Elder Abuse Prevention Coordinator at the Eastern Community Legal Centre discusses the need to take a primary prevention approach to elder abuse in order to achieve sustained change and reflects on t...

Following extended COVID lock downs in Victoria, the return to face-to-face service for social support programs funded through the CHSP is being welcomed by clients and service providers alike.  In this podcast the ESDT speak with Susi Richter from Accent Home Care and Gillian Roebuck from Donwood Community Aged Care Services about their return to service strategies. Susi and Gillian reflect on th...

Ageism is described as the most commonly accepted form of discrimination. Often it's subconscious, but the entrenched nature of ageist attitudes has significant and ongoing impacts on people's health, wellbeing, confidence and opportunities. In this podcast Joel Pringle from the Benevolent Society and Sharon Porteous from the Inner East Primary Care Partnership will discuss what ageism i...

In late 2020 Katherine Harding, shared her knowledge and experience about the ‘Specific Timely Appointments for Triage’ (or STAT model) with Occupational Therapists across Victoria who support client independence in the CHSP program. In this podcasts, Katherine provides an introduction to the STAT model and discusses how it can help health services to manage wait lists and reduce waiting times. Ka...

In part 2 of our Reablement podcast series, Dale and Lisa (the eastern sector development team) speak with Dee Chand, Coordinator with the Maroondah City Council Regional Assessment Service. Dee shares her insights and experience of identifying, motivating, and assessing people who are likely to benefit from a reablement service. In addition, Dee provides some interesting examples of reablement se...

The first in a 2-part series, this podcast focuses on supporting a consistent and shared understanding about Reablement - a priority for the CHSP programme.   In this podcast, Dale and Lisa (the eastern sector development team) explore the definition of reablement and its relationship with wellness and diversity and discuss some of the key elements that will contribute to good reablement practice....

Inclusive and responsive care planning underpins community aged care service delivery. It helps the service provider to learn who the client is, what's important to them and what they want to achieve to live as independently as possible. With the onset of COVID-19 and the suspension of face-to-face service delivery, good care planning processes have enabled service providers to respond to to...

Deb Benger is the Senior Manager in the allied health team at Access Health and Community. Deb shares what her and the team put in place in response to COVID-19 and how they maintained safe and continuous health services. Deb discusses the barriers and challenges they faced, but also the processes and flexible approaches which have supported them. This podcast is produced by the Eastern Sector Dev...