NEWS
Promised positive oral health initiatives Nation’s aged care residents reap potential benefits of new policies.
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here is every reason to be optimistic that the new Labor government will work with the nation’s peak dental body to fix the broken dental system for people in aged care. Labor promised in a letter written before polling day, that it would work with the Australian Dental Association (ADA) to improve training for aged care workers, so it includes an oral health component. “The ADA congratulates the new Labor government and looks forward to its new Cabinet delivering on the undertaking to work with us,” said ADA President Dr Mark Hutton. “Labor has said it understands the importance of oral health to elderly Australians and acknowledges the relevant recommendation of the Aged Care Royal Commission’s Final Report. “Further, they wrote to us saying that an Albanese Labor Government would engage with relevant stakeholders, including the ADA, to address issues with aged care vocational and university education programs, the Aged Care Quality Standards and other regulations relating to oral health needs in residential aged care. “This is great news and will go a long way to fixing some of the biggest issues facing the 190,000 residents of aged care facilities around Australia, many whose oral health issues are not being met as often as they should be, or not at all.” Dr Stephen Liew, ADA Vice President said in the run-up to the election the nation’s dentists asked the major parties to address the lack of oral care in residential homes by: • Funding direct access to public and private dental services that maintain the basic dental and oral healthcare standards in aged care facilities, what the ADA calls a Seniors Dental Benefits Schedule,
• Including clinical indicators for oral health in the Aged Care Quality Standards, • Including core units of study on oral health in the Cert III in Aged Care to ensure staff in aged care services are skilled to be able to care for resident’s daily oral health needs and to identify when dental services are required, and • Including an oral health assessment in the over 75 health check performed by GPs.
FAST facts Malnutrition, social isolation and declining general health are some of the serious impacts of not maintaining a healthy mouth. The Australian Oral Health Survey has found: • 32% of those aged 55-74 years and 25% of those aged 75+ years have untreated tooth decay, • 51% of those aged 55-74 years and 69% of those aged 75+ years have gum disease, • where the gum disease wasn’t treated, it resulted in complete tooth loss for 20% of those aged 75+ years, • 22% of those aged 55-74 years and 46% of those aged 75+ years have an inadequate dentition (less than 21 teeth).
PALLIATIVE CARE INFO Do you need information about palliative care or end-of-life care? Coordinating and accessing care services and supports can be very complex and overwhelming. The public is invited to a talk on this topic on Saturday, June 11 at the Heritage Centre in Cooroy. The speaker will be Sue Mason-Baker of Mingary Care. Formerly known as Sunshine Hospice Ltd., Mingary Care is a generalist palliative care provider on the Sunshine Coast offering compassionate palliative support in relation to serious illness, dying, death and grief. The charity has embarked on a new and innovative model of care aimed at addressing gaps in services and supports in our local community. Managing Director Sue 20 YOUR TIME MAGAZINE / June 2022
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Mason-Baker can explain how the new model of care works and how you can access their services. On Saturday, June 11, at 1pm Sue will be guest speaker at the Cooroy Noosa Genealogy Group’s June general meeting at the Heritage Centre, 17 Emerald St Cooroy. For further information, ring 3129 0356, or go online at genealogynoosa.org.au. Sunshine Coast
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