AGED Care Tasmania is praising a Dutch initiative that allows students to live in nursing homes rent free, provided they socialise with the elderly 30 hours a month.
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The students, one who is 19 years old, are screened for suitability and talk to their ‘‘neighbours’’ for an hour or so a day.
Aged Care Tasmania chief executive Darren Mathewson said innovative policy that increased social connectedness between the old and young could increase quality of life for the elderly, and was well worth considering in Tasmania.
‘‘There is an argument that we need to deregulate our system a little bit to allow these sorts of innovations to occur without having an impact on the quality of care that is expected,’’ Mr Mathewson said.
‘‘We have an obligation to ensure that older people have positive social contact. Initiatives like this are a really positive development.’’
University of Tasmania Wicking Dementia Research co-director Andrew Robinson said a Tasmanian program, introduced into two Launceston nursing homes, was already positively tackling elderly isolation.
The Teaching Aged Care Facility program places nursing, medicine and paramedic students into homes to interact with the residents, to meet them, ask questions, and engage socially, but also to assess the resident according to their discipline, making recommendations for their care.
Professor Robinson said the evidence-based approach was leading the world in social engagement practices.
‘‘This program has had massive social impact. The first is that the residents have all these young, enthusiastic health professionals looking after them, and they and their family have a perception that they are receiving better care.
‘‘The second is that the residents have a better quality of life because they are in contact with the outside world, and their sense of social well-being is improved.
‘‘The third is that they say they have a lot to teach the students, and see themselves as teachers.’’