Page 919 - Week 04 - Tuesday, 19 April 1994
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In order to recognise the outstanding contribution older people make to the ACT community in a voluntary capacity, the Government is establishing a Senior Volunteers Recognition Day to coincide with the United Nations International Day of the Elderly. Each year five or more senior volunteers will be selected from those nominated by community organisations. The selected senior volunteers will be guests of honour throughout the day and, at a special function, will receive an award as a token of the Government's appreciation of their efforts. Although five people represent only a small proportion of the army of older volunteers working in Canberra, I hope that Senior Volunteers Recognition Day will draw to the attention of the whole community the vital and active role played by older people in our community. The inaugural Senior Volunteers Recognition Day will be held on 1 October this year, the International Day of the Elderly. Officers of my department will consult with various community organisations to determine the protocol for the day.
One of the most insidious myths about ageing is that older people are all the same; that they are frail, both mentally and physically, and incapable of looking after themselves. It would surprise many people to realise that most people experience very little measurable decline in mental function with older age. The vast majority of people in their sixties are unaffected by dementias, and, while this figure increases significantly for people in their eighties, even then most people are dementia free.
Similarly, it is not widely realised that most older people are fit, well and able to live independently at home making few demands on the community. In 1993 the Australian Bureau of Statistics conducted a survey of disability, ageing and carers. The survey was conducted in private homes as well as in hospitals, nursing homes, hostels and retirement villages. While the bureau's survey indicated that disability increases with age, it also showed that people aged 75 years or over make up only 17 per cent of people with a disability who need assistance. It may also surprise people to realise that there may be little difference between a very fit 70-year-old and a moderately fit 30-year-old. Most people over 60 years report their own health as good or fair; very few older people describe their health as poor.
So the real picture is that, rather than being cared for, many older people care for others. They often care for their partners, and sometimes for their own parents and other relatives when they need assistance with everyday living. It is this support and the support provided by the home and community care program that enable most older people to remain in their own homes rather than in hostels and nursing homes. Indeed, only about 3 per cent of older people in the ACT are in nursing homes and about 4 per cent in hostels.
I assume that members are aware that the home and community care program provides many home help and personal care services. It helps older people to modify their homes so that their homes are better suited to their needs. It provides services to enable carers of older people and those with a disability to have some respite from their caring role. The program provides services to assist those people who cannot access public transport. Through the home and community care program older people can arrange to have community nurses or other paramedical service providers visit them in their homes.
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