Our ability to stand beside older Victorians and ensure that their voice is heard has been tested this year more than at any time during ERA’s 30-year history. The pandemic and continued lockdowns have meant that older Victorians have experienced unprecedented isolation and disconnection from loved ones and community.

Older Victorians tell us that they prefer face-to-face contact and, whenever possible, this is what we have done, although for the past year we have been wearing a facemask. The psychological impact of not being able to see a person’s face when they are caring for you or having a chat has added to the overall impact of the lockdown on older Victorians.

Advocates have attended residential aged care education sessions, family meetings, sanctions, and closure meetings via zoom. Case meetings, networking and community information sessions have also been held via zoom. Although this method of contact has been invaluable, again it is the face-to-face contact that helps build trust and confidence allowing for more effective advocacy to occur.

We have worked with the Australian Centre for Grief and Bereavement to help their counselors gain access to residents in need, and with Phoenix Australia, the Centre for Posttraumatic Mental Health, who have developed training resources for aged care staff on trauma-informed care.

The Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety (RCACQS) identified in their final report the importance of NACAP advocacy and the need for an increase in services across Australia. The federal government accepted the Commission’s recommendation that aged care consumers need more information to help them exercise choice and understand their rights. The resulting increase in funding will enable ERA to grow and reach out to more older Victorians than ever before. We will also be able to increase our education service to residential and community aged care providers on the rights of older people to quality care that is person-centred in consideration of the individual, their circumstances, their experiences, and their preferences.

Debra Nicholl, Advocacy Manager

Many older Victorians have been suffering increased Elder Abuse during the pandemic, including the erosion of their rights to independence, social participation and self-fulfilment. Unfortunately, both the National Aged Care Visitation Code for Residential Aged Care and the Department of Health and Human Services Care Facilities Directions have been disregarded by some aged care providers. Such providers have placed their discretion to allow visitors above the human rights of residents, who are suffering physical, emotional and psychological distress as a result.

ERA advocates have also witnessed an increase in home care providers denying services to older Victorians that would meet their assessed needs, maintain their independence and ensure a safe environment, because those services are now considered excluded items under the Home Care Package Guidelines. Interpreting the Guidelines in such a limited way gives no consideration to person-centred care and the older person’s right to stay connected, active, healthy and in control of their lives.

Concerns have been raised by family members whose access to the older person has been restricted by an attorney or guardian. Where possible, we ask the older person what they would like to happen or remind providers of the resident’s right to unrestricted access and to maintaining relationships that are important to them. The most common issue raised with ERA has been suspected financial abuse by family members or friends of the older person.

We aim to prevent Elder abuse prevention by highlighting the systemic and individual issues that affect older Victorians. Our education and information provision in the community and in residential care focuses on raising awareness of ageism, improving knowledge, and encouraging reporting of mistreatment and disrespect.

Debra Nicholl, Advocacy Manager

A collaboration led by Victoria Police has brought together key organisations from the banking, legal, health and aged care sectors to combat financial elder abuse in the community. The Financial Elder Abuse trial currently supports seniors in the Western district (Echuca, Bendigo, Macedon, Wedderburn and Heathcote), Latrobe Valley, and Frankston. Regional Advocates Sue Petrini and Christine Hopwood represent ERA in the Western and Latrobe Valley divisions, respectively.

During the current pandemic, older people have become more vulnerable to abuse, as their children may be in situations that require reliance on older family members for financial support. Together, the Financial Elder Abuse groups discuss current cases and how we can work together to identify and respond to the financial exploitation of older people in our local areas.

The trial has resulted in the development of several useful resources providing service organisation information. Strong networks have formed, assisting all network members to make appropriate referrals to other organisations.

In one case, referrals were made by the working party members to VicPol, who were able to respond and support the referrer appropriately due to a combination of this trial, prior work (including by our CEO, Philippa Campbell) and police member training. The advocate in this area trial was able to connect with one of the banks when a caller to ERA advised that his bank branch had denied him access to his bank statements, as there was a power of attorney in place. This issue was resolved successfully for the ERA client.

The trial will continue until July 2022, with hopes of expanding into other areas of Victoria.

Sue Petrini and Christine Hopwood, Regional Advocates

Ongoing lockdowns and restrictions in Victoria, especially in Metropolitan Melbourne, have created a greater need for connection, information, and education and for new ways of reaching our audience when face-to-face delivery is not an option.

Having commenced in the newly-created role of Community Information and Education Coordinator in March 2021, I have had the opportunity between lockdowns to see our highly-skilled Advocates deliver face-to-face Education sessions in residential aged care. I have heard firsthand from both residents and families how important our work is in empowering older people to access information and gain invaluable knowledge to support their right to quality care that is person-centred and meets their diverse needs.

We have delivered some of the staff and community sessions online and I look forward to continuing to develop new ways of delivering information such as webinars, Facebook lives and podcasts, as well as broadening our reach into the Home Care setting to reach as many older people and their representatives/families as we can.

Our plans for the next 12 months are to refresh and modernise our content and delivery options, increase our profile and reach through working closely with developed and new networks and launch our Peer Education Pilot Project. This project will initially work with two communities – Forgotten Australians/Care Leavers and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community – to understand their barriers to accessing our services and co-create material that is meaningful and talks about ERA and our services.

Joanna Parlapiano, Community Information and Education Coordinator

The 2020–21 year has been a challenging one for the Navigator program and the older people we support, with lockdowns and gathering restrictions making it more difficult to find and connect with older people who are not yet linked in with services. We have experimented with online technologies such as video webinars, with positive feedback from attendees, but continue to hear a strong preference for face-to-face support.

One of the highlights of the second year of the trial has been seeing the progress of those we have supported earlier in the program – with many re-contacting us as their needs change, long-awaited Home Care Packages are allocated, or advocacy issues arise.

Another positive has been our close working relationship with the National Seniors CALD Community Liaison program, which has allowed us to reach many members of the Chin, Filipino and South American communities who have been unaware of their aged care options up to now.

The end of the year saw the extension of the Navigator trial until December 2022 and we were delighted to receive additional funding for another Navigator worker. Under the new trial format, ERA’s Navigators will concentrate on the Western Metropolitan and Barwon South West Aged Care Planning Regions, which should allow us to build even closer community relationships. Following feedback from the trial sites – including ERA – the revamped trial has an increased focus on outreach work, the use of intermediaries and assertive outreach, and more intensive support that follows people through to the implementation of services.

Cassie Browne, Advocate – Aged Care Navigator

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of social connections and the impact loneliness has on wellbeing and quality of life. The experiences that the wider population has faced during lockdowns are unfortunately often an everyday reality for many older people, and why programs like the Community Visitors Scheme (CVS) are very important. It is encouraging that despite all the challenges of the past 12 months we have experienced growth and demand for the CVS program throughout regional Victoria.

CVS has experienced a positive uptake of the program from aged care facilities and Home Care Package providers who acknowledge the importance and benefits CVS has for older people. We have built strong positive working partnerships with the broader community sector and seen our public profile increase with the tireless work ERA and our OPAN colleagues have undertaken to promote the benefits of CVS.

The concept of the CVS program is simple – it’s connecting people with people. The benefits of CVS are two-fold and many of our volunteers often express gratitude for being part of a wonderful program and for the opportunity to connect with someone. Our older community members have a lifetime of knowledge and experiences and we are all grateful to have the opportunity to connect, share and learn from them.

The COVID-19 pandemic and restrictions to daily life have certainly impacted how we do things and have required us to be agile in service delivery and flexible in our approach in an ever-changing landscape. This has often required our volunteers to pivot and change how they are connecting with older people with very little notice due to lockdowns and restrictions.

We are very fortunate to have such a wonderful team of volunteers who are connecting every day with isolated older people and building strong friendships. Their commitment and adaptability in what has been a period of constant change has driven the success of the CVS program with ERA and we look forward to continuing to grow the program throughout regional Victoria.

Megan Collisson, CVS Coordinator