Supported Decision Making at Adacas

10/12/2019

MEDIA RELEASE: HELP NEEDED TO PREVENT FURTHER ABUSE OF OLDER AUSTRALIANS
10th December 2019

Minister for Aged Care and Senior Australians to launch new OPAN elder abuse prevention resources.

Older Persons Advocacy Network is pleased to announce that Senator the Hon Richard Colbeck, Minister for Aged Care and Senior Australians, will be officially launching Older Persons Advocacy Network’s (OPAN) resources at a free event in Melbourne.

A mobile application ‘Elder Help’ and a video ‘Noticed Something?’ will be demonstrated at the launch taking place at 2pm on 12 December at Ross House in Melbourne’s CBD. Consumer Advocate Maria Berry and Community Visitor Scheme coordinator Melissa Collison (Elder Rights Advocacy) will highlight their experience of abuse of older people and how these resources will help.

“Every older Australian deserves to live free of abuse and neglect. Unfortunately, the abuse of older people remains an insidious issue in Australia, effecting between 2% and 10% of older people in any given year Neglect has been particularly highlighted by the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety’s interim report ‘An Issue of Neglect’,” OPAN CEO Craig Gear said.

“These resources aim to provide information to volunteers and all those in contact with older people to aid them to recognise the signs of possible abuse, and to educate the wider community on the rights of older people receiving aged care, and how to access aged care advocacy services.”

OPAN hopes that the app and video will help address some of the concerns in the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety’s Interim Report, which highlighted the prevalence of abuse and neglect in aged care.

“It’s often aged care staff and families, as well as volunteers and visitors, who are on the frontline and might be the first to notice something is different or identify someone is at risk. OPAN wants to provide the tools to help make taking action to abuse easier”

The launch will also be webcast live. For more information and to register visit:

https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/ministerial-launch-of-opan-elder-abuse-prevention-resources-tickets-83742069785
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For copies of the ‘Noticed Something’ abuse prevention video (embargoed till midnight Wednesday 11th December) or for media attendance at the event contact executive@opan.com.au

The ElderHELP app is available for download in the Appstore and through Google play

More details regarding Older Persons Advocacy Network, a leader in providing aged care advocacy support and elder abuse prevention, can be found at

https://opan.com.au/

For media information contact: Craig Gear, Chief Executive Officer, Older Persons Advocacy Network on (02) 8217 0211 or 0410 695 659

1 - Australian Institute of Family Studies, Elder Abuse: Understanding issues, frameworks and responses, 2016. At https://aifs.gov.au/publications/elder-abuse

Senator the Hon Richard Colbeck, Minister for Aged Care and Senior Australians to launch new resources to prevent the abuse of older people

09/12/2019

AGED CARE ROYAL COMMISSION HEARINGS COMMENCE IN THE ACT

9th December 2019

The Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety has this morning commenced hearings in Canberra. The particular issue under consideration in a week of hearings is the interface between Australia’s aged care and health care systems.

Those appearing at the hearings are predominantly families of older persons who have experienced poor health treatment whilst in residential aged care, medical and health practitioners, and health administrators. The Commission is looking to not only expose examples of poor practice, but also to identify where good practice has occurred, and to systematize good practice in enabling people living in residential aged care to access good medical treatment and better health outcomes. The hearings can be followed via the Commission’s webcast.

https://agedcare.royalcommission.gov.au/hearings/Documents/witness-list-2019/witness-list-9-13-december-2019.pdf

https://webstreaming.lawinorder.com.au/acrc

ADACAS CEO Michael Bleasdale spoke to ABC News about the issues that ADACAS has seen in the past that point to a significant change in culture being required to better facilitate access to health care for residents of aged care facilities. The full article is available online.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-09/aged-care-royal-commission-continues-in-canberra/11777870

The Royal Commission continues until April 2020. Anyone wishing to make submission on any issue of concern are able to do so. If people require assistance they are welcome to contact ADACAS direct at 6242 5060.

22/11/2019

Supported Decision Making in Healthcare for Young People

22nd November 2019

On Tuesday 19 November ADACAS hosted our annual Supported Decision Making Forum which was opened by Minister Suzanne Orr . This year we explored opportunities and challenges for young people aged 14-19 seeking to make decisions about their healthcare. Minister Orr opened the forum and highlighted the place of supported decision making in building the skills of young decision makers and upholding human rights.

A diverse range of stakeholders including service providers, ACT Government representatives, family members and youth advocates participated in small group discussions exploring what decision making supports and rights look like for young people of different ages and lived experiences. Initial key themes to come out through these discussions were the importance of listening to young people and responding to their individual experiences and needs, up-skilling and supporting people who act as decision supporters, and enabling and supporting young people to take risks and learn from mistakes.

Our panel of experts in dialogue with stakeholders explored recommendations for the future and highlighted the existing barriers and assumptions for young people who want to make healthcare decisions and receive support.

We will be writing a summary report which we be available soon to everyone who attended the forum and those who request it, please email us at adacas@adacas.org.au

01/11/2019

01 November 2019

Over the last weekend, ADACAS attended the International Association of Youth Mental Health Conference in Brisbane.

With 652 delegates from 41 different countries, it was an incredible event filled with invigorating discussion and calls to action.

Our Project Officer Sarah Sowry presented on innovations in practice: "The place of supported decision making in responding to mental health issues with younger people."

This stimulated an excellent discussion about the importance of supporting young people to learn skills and build their identity as decision makers. It also linked to one of the key themes of the conference (The importance of engaging with young people and sharing lived experience) and highlighted the need to keep the young person’s voice, values and rights at the centre of all aspects of mental health supports.

ADACAS will use insights and learnings from the conference in our work championing the rights of all people with disability and mental ill-health.

17/10/2019

18 October 2019

Supported Decision Making in Healthcare for Young People

This forum on the 19th of November 2019 will explore the implications for supported decision making in health care for young people. We will be focussing on the opportunities and challenges for young people aged 14-19 as they build their identity and skills as decision makers.

All are welcome to participate and attend, and refreshments will be provided.

Join us for a small group and panel style discussion focussing on supported decision making in the health care sector for young people. What opportunities are their for young people to actively participate in decisions about their health ? What support is available to help them to make decisions and build their identity as decision makers?

Please let us know if you have any support requirements to facilitate your attendance.

Tickets are available, free, at:
https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/supported-decision-making-in-healthcare-for-young-people-tickets-77055321541

If you have any questions please contact the Supported Decision Making Team at supportmydecision@adacas.org.au or (02) 6242 5060.

Join us for a small group and panel style discussion focussing on supported decision making in the health care sector for young people.

10/10/2019

10th October 2019

We are at the Mental Health expo in Garema Place!

Come check us out!

25/07/2019

25th July 2019

CEO of ADACAS, Michael Bleasdale, speaking at Rock The Boat 2019.

Also people getting the opportunity to explore the new Decision Support Toolkit app.

Available free for download for Android devices here:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.decision_support_toolkit.decisionsupporttoolkit

24/07/2019

Abuse of older people has been happening for so many years without enough action to stop it!

An innovative practice, Supported Decision Making http://adacas.org.au/supported-decision-making/supported-decision-making/ focuses on methods that encourage the continued decision making of older people, particularly those who have been diagnosed with dementia, and a lessening of a reliance upon substitute decision making.

ADACAS’ Projects and Policy Manager, Helen Connolly, took part in a panel discussion on Practical Models: Decision Making and Choice at Rock the Boat the 2019 National Elder Abuse Conference in Brisbane https://neac2019.com.au/

This was an excellent session that explained supported decision making and how it could be useful to minimise the risks of abuse for older people.

For more, head to a message from our CEO about the conference and view our image gallery.

http://adacas.org.au/news/latest-news/

ADACAS is working as part of the Older Person’s Advocacy Network (OPAN) to research how supported decision making and individual advocacy can be used together to support people at risk of or experiencing elder abuse. This project also involves developing training material around this issue for adv...

23/07/2019

We Rock-ed the Boat with the launch of our Decision Support Toolkit App. This free app provides useful tools and information to support someone to make decisions and build their readiness to make meaningful choices based on their values. Available now on the Google Play Store, coming soon to the App Store.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.decision_support_toolkit.decisionsupporttoolkit

23/07/2019

11/07/2019

DECISION SUPPORT TOOLKIT APP NOW AVAILABLE FOR ANDROID
11th July 2019

This free app is designed for you as someone who supports others to make decisions.

By supporting someone to make decisions about their life you are upholding their human rights.

Throughout this app there are questions and information that may help you to support the decision maker. Use the menu button on your top right to navigate through the app and learn more about supported decision making.

The app is only available for Android devices at the moment. Link to Google Play below.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.decision_support_toolkit.decisionsupporttoolkit

The link is also available on our website here.

http://adacas.org.au/supported-decision-making/decision-support-tools/

08/05/2019

ADACAS would like to hear from people who require support to make their healthcare decisions.

We would like to know about people’s experience exercising their right to decide about healthcare. This could include (but is not limited to) people with intellectual impairment, dementia, acquired brain injury or people experiencing mental ill health.

We would also like to know about the needs and experiences of carers and health professionals in supporting healthcare decisions.

We want to ensure the availability of support for people so they are able to actively participate when they make a healthcare decision.

If you require support to make decisions please click the following link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/rka-decisionmakers

If you are a carer or family member of someone who requires support to make decisions please click the following link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/RKA-carers

If you are a health professional please click the following link:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/RKA-healthprofessionals

Web survey powered by SurveyMonkey.com. Create your own online survey now with SurveyMonkey's expert certified FREE templates.

09/12/2018

We are proud to announce that our Research and Projects Coordinator Helen Connolly was awarded the ACT Chief Ministers Award for Excellence in Support Work. This is a testament to Helen's dedication to human rights and passion for making the community inclusive. We are incredibly lucky to have her as part of our team. Congratulations Helen!

04/11/2018

The SDM team at ADACAS is hosting a forum exploring supported decision making in healthcare. It will be a very interesting discussion!

Interactions with health care services can be a trigger point for the loss of decision making rights. The Australian Law Reform Commission recommends reform around four principles that protect every person’s right to decide. It recommends supported decision making as a reasonable and necessary sup...

04/11/2018

Interactions with health care services can be a trigger point for the loss of decision making rights. The Australian Law Reform Commission recommends reform around four principles that protect every person’s right to decide. It recommends supported decision making as a reasonable and necessary support to fulfill this right.

This forum will explore the implications for supported decision making in health care focusing upon:

- Duty of Care

- Dignity of Risk

- Informed Consent

The forum will be introduced by Minister Meegan Fitzharris.

All are welcome to participate and attend, and morning tea will be provided.

RSVP via eventbrite below- places are limited!

https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/supported-decision-making-in-healthcare-tickets-50431058654?internal_ref=login

If you have any questions please contact the Supported Decision Making Team at supportmydecision@adacas.org.au or (02) 6242 5060.

Interactions with health care services can be a trigger point for the loss of decision making rights. The Australian Law Reform Commission recommends reform around four principles that protect every person’s right to decide. It recommends supported decision making as a reasonable and necessary sup...

10/09/2018

Yesterday we welcomed our new CEO Michael Bleasdale. We are very excited to get to know him and to see what he will bring to our service.

30/07/2018

Health Care Consumers' Association Inc are hosting information sessions about the new My Health Record. If you would like more information about it so you can decide whether it is right for you head to the My Health Record website or go to one of these information sessions.

https://www.myhealthrecord.gov.au/

27/06/2018

The Supported Decision Making Team attended the launch of 'My Rights, My Decisions' yesterday at the ACT Mental Health Consumer Network Inc.. Shane Rattenbury, Minister for Mental Health launched the program aimed at supporting mental health consumers to exercise their rights according to the ACT Mental Health Act 2015, particularly in regards to Nominated Person, Advance Agreements and Advance Consent Directions.

ADACAS and RKA has worked with MHCN in the development of the new My Rights, My Decisions Form Kit and we are excited for the opportunity that these forms will give to consumers to be a part of decisions about their treatment and care, even when they may be unwell.

To read a bit more about My Rights, My Decisions or to access the forms click the link below.
https://www.actmhcn.org.au/my-rights-my-decisions/

My Rights, My Decisions is a program that aims to educate and support the empowerment of mental health consumers with respect to the Mental Health Act 2015 (ACT). To date, we have created...