Like most developed countries, Australia has an ageing population and a negative stigma attached to nursing homes. People are delaying the move to institutions, on average, relocating at around 85 years of age. As such, the challenge for Local Government is to create age friendly communities and services that can assist older people to live more independently for longer.
Speaking at the Local Government Association of Tasmania Annual Conference in June, Roland Naufal said research and experience indicate a future where it will be possible to delay or avoid the nursing home altogether.
Roland Naufal is an aged care expert and founder of 4C Consulting, which specialises in working with public and private organisations to provide best practice in aged care and retirement villages.
He said independence for older people can be achieved through home care services delivered to their own apartments or homes, but the real opportunities exist if we get creative in the way we develop retirement villages and aged care facilities.
“Local Government and other relevant organisations need to ask themselves, “Is this the way I would want to live when I get older?” Roland Naufal said. “We must build places for people that we would want to live in ourselves.
“Governments must also work together with older individuals and communities to achieve the outcomes they require, ultimately making retirement living a lot more attractive.”
After working closely with 400 older Australians, Roland found that they are rarely consulted on what services they want, what is working for them and what they enjoy about ageing.
“The aged population are a diverse group and they should not be treated as one group of the same people,” he said. “It is important to talk to them and find out what they want.
“The best councils adapt their services and work with public and private sector partners to drive improvement in services for older people. These services should complement what older people want to continue to do and how they want to continue to live.”
Roland pointed to a model becoming common in the Netherlands called ‘Apartments for Life’. Pioneered by the Humanitas Foundation, this unique approach offers older people the chance to remain in their own home throughout older age, and to avoid having to move when their health declines and they require increasing levels of care and support.
On average, one third of the residents living in these multistorey buildings are independent and aged from as young as 55, one third need personal care services or assisted living, and one third are medically dependent, requiring the equivalent of nursing home services.
Staff are assigned to care for residents, but they do so by giving them greater autonomy and independence.
Roland Naufal said with an organisational goal of ‘happiness’, the apartments work on a ‘yes’ based culture.
“If a request is possible and can be accommodated, the answer will always be ‘yes’,” he said. “For example, one lady wanted to move into the apartments, but was worried about her five cats. The apartment management organised for two of the cats to go to the woman’s new neighbours, she kept two herself and organised for one to be rehoused elsewhere.
“You must weigh up the potential versus the problem, as a focus on happiness can achieve great things.”
The apartments are built above common, sheltered village squares, where residents are encouraged to mix with each other and members of the public in restaurants, bars, internet cafes and museums.
“These facilities create a neighbourhood atmosphere, offering services that local residents and those from the wider neighbourhood will want to come and use,” Roland Naufal said. “It creates opportunities for social interaction and adds a level of interest and excitement to residents’ lives.”
Roland Naufal said another way to engage older people is through ‘intentional communities’, where people with common interests are brought together.
“In most aged care institutions, all the residents have in common are their problems, so that’s all they talk about,” he said. “But given the opportunity to meet people that share a passion or to participate in activities they enjoy, they will more than willingly do so.
“For example, one facility in the United States was designed specifically for older people with an interest in the arts.
“The residents come together to participate in art workshops and can always find a friend to have an interesting conversation.”
For further information visit www.4clivingwell.com
