Mentally-ill and vulnerable elderly people living at residential care facilities are struggling to access mental health care, according to the Council on the Ageing.
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COTA Tasmania chief executive Sue Leitch said there was “often a reliance on medications rather than a more holistic approach” to mental health for older people.
“Studies showed over half of all permanent residents had symptoms of depression,” Ms Leitch said.
“Entry into a facility can be stressful and there can be feeling of loss of independence.”
She said “some” residential facilities has good programs to support residents’ wellbeing, but “not all of them have taken this approach”. Accessibility issues include the loss of the Medicare subsidised GP Mental Health Treatment Plan after patients move into an aged care facility.
“It does seem to be unfair … [residents] are not eligible to other supports available to other members of the community,” Ms Leitch said.
“I would encourage facilities to consider innovative ways to support older residents with mental health issues and not to neglect this important aspect of supporting older people.”
Ms Leitch said older people’s mental health concerns were often “brushed off” and considered part of ageing.
“Loneliness and social isolation can be a significant issue for older people and can lead to mental health issues and poor health outcomes – stigma and ageism compounds this,” Ms Leitch said.
“It is a growing issue for our society and we need to be better at creating inclusive communities for all ages of people to avoid these issues.”
Mental Health Council of Tasmania chief executive Connie Digolis said it was “exceptionally important” that older people were able to access mental health services. Aged and Community Services Tasmania chief executive Darren Mathewson said providers took mental health seriously and worked to deliver residents support.
“Under government changes ... there will be lower levels of subsidy to those residents with high complex health care needs, making the delivery of mental health services more difficult,” Mr Mathewson said. He said it was up to the federal government to make mental health treatments readily accessible.
A federal Health Department spokeswoman said a committee would be examining access to services for people who live in residential aged care this year. Health Minister Michael Ferguson said the state government’s Rethink Mental Health plan specifically identified the importance of links between the mental health and aged care sectors.
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