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“Re-framing ageing involves people thinking differently about valuing people’s whole lives and not just the years before some arbitrary use-by date”, Council on the Ageing South Australia Chief Executive Jane Mussared said.
06/10/2015
“Age won’t tell you anything about a person’s value in the workplace. Yet, older people repeatedly report being systematically excluded, marginalised and stereotyped.”
Ms Mussared said there are huge changes ahead.
“The wave of demographic change older people represent will be as disruptive as digital technologies; it will be as ground-breaking as the women’s suffrage movement was in the early 20th century; and it will be as revolutionary as the civil rights movement,” she said.
“It is, in fact, our next big social revolution.”
Deputy Premier and SA Attorney-General, the Hon. John Rau said we needed greater recognition of the value of older workers’ skills and experience in workplaces – their wisdom, calm, perspective and capacity to mentor others.
Former palliative care specialist and 2013 Senior Australian of the Year, Ian Maddocks AM spoke about his ‘building community’ approach to the challenges of ageing.
“As an elderly person in decline, I work hard to stay well and my only medication is a glass of red in the evening,” he said.
“But I have failing hearing and sight – two common dysfunctions of old age.
“Multiple technologies help me cope and stay in touch. But technologies are not enough for the problems of emotional disability, isolation, and loneliness.
“Each residential care facility should include a medical practice with a healthy ageing resource including a gym and pool and library and meeting rooms … offering comprehensive care for both illness and wellness.
“It would be a community hub – extending the services to the local community and providing outreach for those nearby ageing in their homes.
“Alongside should be a primary school to give children, parents, grandparents, young people and oldies the best chance to know and support each other – building local communities.”
Former SA Supreme Court Judge, Dr Robyn Layton AO QC said her greatest motivations for continuing to take on new challenges are, “Curiosity, interest, passion and the pleasure in taking risks.”
“We need to make a greater effort to stay fit and keep reinventing ourselves to stay involved,” she said.
Cook, author and food producer Maggie Beer AM extolled the virtues of flavour and taste and the pleasure of nourishing meals for maintaining an appetite for life.
“Currently, ageism is the ‘norm’. But I’d like to see vintage people valued the same as we appreciate vintage wines and vintage cheddar,” she said.
The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated that technology-driven healthcare initiatives are more important than ever, according to the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering (ATSE) Co-Chair, Expert Working Group, Health Technology Readiness Project, Sue MacLeman.
Read more Health | Ageing April 26, 2017The pressure healthcare places on government budgets is a rising issue, but cutting funding to the system is not the answer, Queensland Minister for Health and Minister for Ambulance Services, the Hon. Cameron Dick said.
Read more Health | Ageing October 20, 2014To meet SA’s future health challenges, sector transformation rather than incremental reform is needed, Minister for Health, the Hon. Jack Snelling has told a CEDA event in Adelaide.
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