Albert, who lives in an aged care home recently had a fall whilst walking through the homes garden. Following his fall, the staff told Albert that he was a falls risk and would now require assistance with showering. Albert contacted the Older Persons Advocacy Network because he felt that this was a breach of his privacy. The Older Persons Advocacy Network advocate listened to Alberts concerns and informed Albert that he had the right to personal privacy and the right to make decisions about his care, even when those decisions might involve an element of risk.
The advocate supported Albert to discuss his concerns with the manager of the aged care home. At this meeting it was agreed that Albert would sign a waiver accepting personal responsibility for any injury that may occur as a result of his decision to shower unassisted. Albert was happy with this outcome and continues to shower independently.

Masae entered an aged care home after having an accident in her home which meant she was unable to care for herself anymore.
Masae is Japanese and was used to cooking traditional cuisine for herself. Since entering the home she was unable to adjust to the food options available to her. She took such a dislike to the food provided, that she was refusing to eat and her family were concerned. The family did not feel comfortable raising this issue with the aged care home, so with Masae’s permission they decide to contact the Older Persons Advocacy Network to seek support.
The Advocate explained to Masae and her family that the Quality of Care Principles 2014 state that meals and refreshments must meet “special dietary requirements, having regard to either medical need or religious or cultural observance”.
Once this was explained to Masae, Masae agreed to meet with the Advocate and the home manager to discuss this issue and ways to address it. The home manager suggested developing a meal plan for Masae incorporating recipes which Masae has used in the past using easily accessible ingredients. Masae agreed to trial the meal plan.
The Advocate returned within 2 weeks to determine the progress of her new meal plan and found that Masae was once again enjoying meal time.

Glenys is a lesbian woman who had trouble finding alternative accommodation due to heterosexist harassment from other residents in her aged care home. Glenys had only spoken to four other residents about her sexual identity during the five years she had lived at the facility. After an argument regarding dining room arrangements, Glenys began to be rejected from multiple tables in the dining room and was subject to verbal insults. Sometimes the residents at a table would simply stop talking when she sat down or remove the spare chair.

Glenys decided that she would prefer to leave the home, rather than stay and contacted the Older Persons Advocacy Network for assistance. An advocate was able to help Glenys relocate to new accommodation. Once relocated the advocate connected Glenys with LGBTI-identified staff who were appropriately trained and supported Glenys to feel at home and safe and comfortable in expressing her views. The concerns regarding Glenys’ previous home were referred to the Aged Care Complaints Commissioner and the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI) visitor scheme was put in place.

While in this case it was good to have achieved a positive outcome that Glenys wanted, it is recognised that there is still significant work to be done for LGBTI clients, particularly in terms of raising awareness in the aged care sector so people feel welcome everywhere.

Tony is the carer and Enduring Power of Attorney for his wife Rosa who has dementia. Rosa receives a number of in-home supports including assistance with showering. Tony contacted Older Persons Advocacy Network because Rosa’s home care service was sending a different support worker to shower Rosa each day and Tony noticed that Rosa was getting distressed undressing and showering in front of so many people who she was not familiar with. Older Persons Advocacy Network’s advocate listened to Tony’s concerns and informed Tony that Rosa had a right to be treated with dignity and to receive care that was respectful of her privacy and individual preferences. The advocate asked Tony who Rosa’s preferred support workers were and later supported Tony to discuss his concerns and Rosa’s care preferences with the Manager of Home Care Service. Rosa now has two regular workers who provide showering assistance.

Carmen receives a cleaning service through the Commonwealth Home Support Program once a fortnight. Carmen contacted Older Persons Advocacy Network because her support worker had been cutting her regular service short by up to 20 minutes a shift and was not completing all the required cleaning tasks. Carmen was particularly concerned about her floors being mopped and not dried, as she recently slipped on wet tiles. Older Persons Advocacy Network’s advocate listened to Carmen’s concerns and informed her that she has the right to receive a reliable and safe service. The advocate supported Carmen to raise her concerns at a meeting with the Manager of service who was not aware that Carmen’s service had been finishing early. The Manager also expressed concerned about the risks associated with Carmen’s floors being left wet. The Manager informed Carmen that as a results of her complaint, all staff would receive further training on ensuring client safety and would also be instructed to adhere to the allocated timeframes of a shift. In addition to this, the advocate assisted Carmen to priorities takes to be completed with each cleaning shift and ensured that this was clearly documented in Carmen’s care plan. Since the involvement of Older Persons Advocacy Network, Carmen has noticed a significant improvement in the quality of the cleaning service.

Elizabeth lives alone in a high set house and has no family nearby. She has two friends who live in the same suburb. Elizabeth recently had a heart attack and as a consequence was fitted with a pacemaker. When in the hospital Elizabeth spoke to hospital staff regarding her concerns of how she would cope when she returned to her home. Elizabeth informed them that she could not lift up one arm and felt that she would struggle with tasks such as vacuuming, mopping and cleaning her bathroom. Elizabeth also thought that she would struggle with shopping and cooking whilst she recovered.

Elizabeth said that had spoken to hospital staff several times and they told her they would get back to her, but no one did. When she arrived home, Elizabeth contacted the Older Persons Advocacy Network to ask for some support in accessing home care. An advocate assisted Elizabeth to connect with My Aged Care about her care needs. This resulted in Elizabeth receiving Commonwealth Home Support Services (CHSP).