Event wrap-up: Brisbane North Aged Care Forum

Members of the aged care sector came together on the 9 September 2021 for the annual Brisbane North Aged Care Forum.

Sponsored by the healthy@home consortium, the forum provided aged care service providers and health professionals the chance to hear the latest updates from the aged care sector, network with peers, and increase their knowledge of best practice.

As work is underway to re-design a new aged care system based on recommendations from the Royal Commission, the forum was a great opportunity to bring aged care workers and health professionals together to explore some of the foundational elements and service implications as we move forward.

The program drew on expertise from a range of interesting speakers – including Geoff Rowe, Chief Executive Officer of Aged and Disability Advocacy Australia – who delivered a thought-provoking keynote presentation on human rights in aged care.

Mr Rowe spoke about the need to create an aged care system that is embedded in human rights and the challenges for aged care to make this happen.

“There needs to be a system where the starting point is that older people have rights. The system must be centred around the rights of older people and empowers them, rather than something that they need to fit into.

“It was really interesting to see the first recommendation from the Aged Care Royal Commission, which was, there needs to be a new Aged Care Act – an Act that is based on human rights.

“Seeing that recommendation was very encouraging, and as we look forward we expect to see an aged care system that is embedded in human rights.

“Human rights don’t underpin our aged care sector. They are not embedded in the legislation and are not necessarily embedded in the practice more broadly.

“Certainly we see that human rights feature very strongly in some individual service providers, but as a sector you can’t look and you can’t see human rights.

Mr Rowe also spoke about ageism as being one of the issues in aged care that needs to be addressed in relation to human rights.

Other topics discussed throughout the forum included dementia supports, complexity of the aged care system, workforce challenges and opportunities, and enhancing consumer engagement.

The next Aged Care Meet-up will be held on 18 November 2021. Email CommunityCare@brisbanenorthphn.org.au to receive aged care event invitations.