Valuing workers key to dementia support
"Honest discussions" are needed among Australians and in the aged care sector on how to improve care for those living with dementia, HammondCare chief executive Mike Baird says.
Almost half a million Australians are now living with dementia and the most common form of the condition, Alzheimer's disease, is set to cost the economy $26.6 billion over the next two decades.
Dementia causes damage to the brain and impairs memory, thoughts and behaviour over time.
Speaking at the launch of a two-day national dementia conference in Sydney, Mr Baird, a former NSW premier, said passion and energy was needed to make a difference to those living with dementia.
"I haven't seen a sector like it where there's a collective passion to care and improve the quality of people's lives," Mr Baird said.
He said valuing workers in the sector was key, praising the "life changing" efforts of those caring for people with the degenerative brain condition.
"It's not just wages, it's also the value of the work," he said, adding that "honest discussions among ourselves and as a sector" were needed in the field.
"We're so supportive of that," Mr Baird said.
His comments come after the federal government last month made a submission to the fair work umpire urging a significant and meaningful wage increase for aged care workers.
Pay rises given to aged care workers -- a recommendation made by the royal commission into the sector -- could be "stepped out" over a period of time, Aged Care Minister Anika Wells has said.
Ms Wells is scheduled to address the conference, organised by the hospital and aged care charity, on Friday.
Other speakers will include opposition aged care spokesperson Anne Ruston, chef Maggie Beer, and Olympian and former parliamentarian Nova Peris.
Craig Ritchie, from the Psychiatry of Ageing at the University of Edinburgh, said a paradigm shift was needed on how society viewed dementia.
Earlier intervention was needed, especially in mid-life, to improve outcomes for those at high risk such as athletes in collision-heavy sports, Professor Ritchie said.
While there was still work to do to understand changes to the quality and structure of the brain caused by the disease, he said early detection was "where we can make changes".
Professor Ritchie cited a Scottish campaign that suggested things like physical activity and staying social could help people reduce their chance of getting dementia.
"I don't think anyone doubts dementia is preventable," he said.
