Carers and workers also key to living well with dementia

As the issues continue to pile up, the sector needs to stay focused on the needs of people living with dementia, their carers and the workforce, says HammondCare chief Andrew Thorburn.

Speaking at the closing of HammondCare’s International Dementia Conference in Sydney on Friday, Mr Thorburn asked delegates to keep these three groups of people in hearts and minds starting with those living with dementia.

“We’ve heard from [those living with dementia] directly. We’ve been challenged really and asked the question, do we really understand? Do we really listen? How can we serve better? How can we be part of the people who help break the stigma and help improve education and knowledge in the broader community?

“These are the people that we come to work for, that we call it our vocation to serve and who we love,” Mr Thorburn told the conference, which drew over 1,000 delegates.

He also highlighted the importance of the carers, who reminded delegates they “know those living with dementia better than any of us” and the many challenges facing the workforce.

“Our role, I think, is to create those communities in our workplaces where our people feel appreciated and well supported and developed and encouraged and saluted for the work they do in serving those living with dementia and carers,” Mr Thorburn said on workforce.

“The issues and challenges are going to continue to stack up. I think our challenge is to stay focused on those three groups of people.”

Build the home as the centre  

More than 90 keynote speakers and panellists contributed at the two-day forum on research and best-practice in complex dementia, palliative care and positive ageing. 

In an industry-first interview, Mr Thorburn told Community Care Review that one the big themes of the conference was the growing importance of care in home.

“We need to build the home as the centre for where people can live with dementia, age well, age in place, and ultimately have end of life. And we need to work out how to look after those people and do it at scale in a big country like Australia. So there’s lots of challenges but I think people are up for them,” he told CCR at the conference.

Elsewhere, Mr Thorburn discussed conference highlights and called on the sector to join him in moving forward and making the changes that need to happen.

Watch the full interview here:

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