REDHS hosts positive ageing drop-in session

Clinical operations director Meaghan Douglas said the session was much needed in light of the new Aged Care Act introduced in early November.

“There's so much information out there and so it’s really about the community and helping them understand what those changes mean for them and if they’ve got any questions, then that’s our role to support them to answer those,” she said.

“It's an opportunity for people to also look and see and get the information that they need to make informed decisions.”

The event was well attended, with 35 participants pre-registering and additional attendees arriving throughout the day.

Representatives from different departments were on site to provide support including allied health, residential aged care, Support at Home and district nursing.

Free health checks were also available on the day and a few participants were able to tour the Yalukang Aged Care facility and the respite ward.

While many of the attendees have had access to services or the My Aged Care system, there were a few residents who were entirely new to the process.

Attendee Olive McMahon said the chance to receive information face-to-face was very helpful.

“We're both over 80, so we just came in to find out about the home care package that is available and to try and get a bit of help,” she said.

“We just thought if we go in and speak to somebody person to person, we might find out a bit more than just ringing up someone on the phone.

“The girls here are wonderful. They’ve just been very helpful and very informative, so it’s all worked out.”

REDHS plans to offer more sessions to cater to the diverse information needs of people throughout their aged care journeys.