Andrea Petriwskyj 00:00
We acknowledge the traditional owners of the lands on which this podcast has been produced and we pay our respects to elder’s past and present. And it could even be just a query. I’m just not sure if this is right. I’m not sure if what I’m seeing is right there
Bec 00:13
will start needing to have the ability to identify changes and deterioration in their clients.
Andrea Petriwskyj 00:25
Welcome to snack, the aged care podcast where we break down some of the big questions around what it really means to be person centred. I’m Dr. Andrea Petrovsky. I’m a gerontologist, and I’m passionate about hearing and sharing the real life experiences of ageing. We’ve talked a lot in this series about how critical the role of the care workforce is, you are the real presence of your service in people’s homes and their lives. So what happens when you can see something isn’t right? Today, we’re talking about how you can be a good ally and an advocate in your role as a care professional. One of the common situations you might come across, and something we’ve touched on in previous episodes is where you can see someone might need support or additional support. But those aren’t always easy conversations to have. We spoke with Maureen about her observations and her own experience with her support staff.
01:27
I know and I can understand a lot of older people have been brought up with you don’t make a fuss, you don’t accept help. You don’t get anything that you don’t, you don’t deserve it, you know, and I feel that we should perhaps inform older people that the care is they are. And it is not like it was perhaps in the olden days when you were looked down upon because you needed looking after. Now Isaac’s excepted. If you want to be independent, and live a good life, at home, in your own home with your pets and your pictures, and your animals, et cetera, et cetera. Then you can Yeah, feel except to help.
Andrea Petriwskyj 02:15
So do you think there’s a role for personal care workers in helping people to understand how that can help them to stay independently at home? Yeah, because
02:25
a lot of people think, oh, yeah, well, all she does is come in and sweep and clean and wash the floors. No, I know that my care person, if she saw me struggling with something, and I needed Well, she did. She did do this the other week, because my air conditioner broke down. And I couldn’t go out in the car when it was 34 degrees for no air conditioner. Because my my breathing. And she said, Oh, how about I let them know that? You know, you’re struggling to get out. And all of a sudden, I got a phone call. And someone came down and did some assessment. And I’ve got taxi vouchers now. So when it gets really hot, but that’s because she saw me struggling and follow up. Yeah. And this is what a lot of people don’t realise. On the surface this yes, we we clean and polish and whatever. But we’re also taking care of you. In AI? How can I put it in a very subtle way? We’ll see you struggling or if we see something needing to be done, then we can pass that on to the service care provider who can give you a ring and say oh, are you have no problem with this? Do you need help?
Andrea Petriwskyj 03:59
That example for Maureen is a good reminder of things we’ve been hearing in this series about the role professional care staff play as the eyes and ears of the service provider. And as the connection point for people to the supports that might help them we know that family and unpaid carers can be a big part of the care relationship and may also need some support themselves. So we asked Sam from well ways care gateway what professional paid carers can do to support and be allies to family carers.
04:34
To me, it always comes back to the little things you know, particularly if this is the first time that a family carer or a care recipient has had professional workers in the home. That can be quite overwhelming. It can be quite frightening. So having workers that come in and do simple things like remembering the carers names, or take even two minutes to say, you know, it’s been two weeks since I’ve seen you how are things going I think It’s really the little things. But it’s also about providing that linking support back to the service provider that they work to. And also being an advocate for the people that they support where if they’re noticing concerns or their carer is raising concerns within the home, around the services or around how their care recipient is doing. It’s it’s about becoming a bit of an advocate. And I think that only comes with knowing what supports and services are available in community, and really encouraging that family carer to reach out for support if things aren’t going well. Or they’re noticing a change in their in their loved ones conditions. Yeah. What
Andrea Petriwskyj 05:42
role can professional carers play in being an ally to family carers when they might need some support?
05:51
Yeah, and I think that’s where it comes back to that mutual respect and open communication. You know, once you’ve built a bit of rapport with a family carer is a little bit easier to say. You know, it’s been a while since the plan has been reviewed, are there extra? Is there extra support in the home, you think it could be helpful, it could even be noticing that the carer is really rundown or unwell themselves and encouraging them to reach out for support quite often, what we do see with paid care services is only one partner is funded through an aged care system, say for example, and when that funded partner is in hospital or passes away, the partner has usually been the family care for that person is immediately without services and supports and has no professional services in the home that was helping to keep things running. And I think that’s really a point of advocacy that professional support workers can do is being aware of what supports and services are available and making sure that people are registered with services people are aware of what services are available to them. And even a simple call to the care gateway programme can link carers in with huge amounts of supports and referrals, you know, based on their individual needs, including things like emergency respite, which if something happens, and they need support in a hurry, that you know, professional services are able to be brought in quite quickly and support that family carer and the care recipient in the way they need to so and having those normalising conversations that yeah, it can be really hard. And things you know, can go wrong, sometimes have you thought about, you know, getting yourself registered with My Aged Care Have you thought about getting yourself registered with Huawei ZTE carrier gateway, it’s just about offering options without judgement.
Andrea Petriwskyj 07:52
Unfortunately, as we know, some quite serious things can happen, including breaches of people’s human rights, right up to abuse or neglect. As a professional care and going into people’s homes, you may be the one to notice things happening that aren’t right. Or the one that the person you’re supporting talks to about something that’s going on. We spoke to Renee and advocate from Ada, Australia about the role of care workers in advocacy. So I
08:20
think that the role is really this, that we’re being paid in these roles to uphold people’s basic human rights. And we see people that don’t really have any friends that are still alive or family members that are around. And that’s just, you know, it’s critical, the role that these people are playing. And I know it can be hard when it seems as though it’s an undervalued profession, but it’s really life changing for people when this has done well. So I think knowing about things like advocacy that is free and impartial so that we you know, there is support available for people working in the sector. And it could even be just a query, I’m just not sure if this is right. I’m not sure if what I’m seeing is right, I just have a funny feeling, you know. So I think it’s just really, really vital that you know, what people’s rights are. And also, you know, pay attention to what you feel is maybe not best practice or what’s not really in line with good quality, person centred care can
Andrea Petriwskyj 09:17
be tricky, can’t it because care workers can sometimes feel that they’re not really in a position of influence in their organisation. So what can someone be doing how to how to people? You know, if you feel that you’re not really in a position of influence or feeling like you have any power in your organisation? How do you respond?
09:41
Yeah, absolutely. So I think that it’s in terms of what people can do, you can ensure that you’re a safe person and that you’re not falling into those traps. I know that the system is under a huge amount of pressure and we see that a lot but the difference Between interactions with people that that genuinely are showing care and empathy and compassion, even when they’re tired, even when they’re busy, even on a bad day, just a difference with how people are communicated with makes a huge difference. But also, I think that if you’re having those rapport building conversations with the people that you’re working with, they’ll let you know if there’s things that are sometimes happening. So you can start to have those open conversations with the person you’re supporting. They can also link in with advocacy and say, it’s actually not a complaint that I have. But I’m just wondering if we could have a meeting or a chat with some of the staff workers or the service provider about some of the quality of care that I’m receiving and the things that are important to me. So there are services that are available. At Ada, Australia, our services are free of charge as our other advocacy services that are available, so just knowing that they exist, and then you can sort of take yourself out of that really tricky situation where you’re like, you know what? I’m gainfully employed, and I don’t want to rock the boat. But this is just not sitting well with me. And I guess as your career matures, you start to be a bit more comfortable, or I know at least I am and calling out things that you you know, you don’t necessarily think are well, but maintaining your own integrity is number one, even when you’re under pressure, we often see, or I’ve often seen, you know, people that are, you know, asking a question, say like, have you finished with a cup of coffee, and before the person’s even answered, they’ve snatched it and popped it in the sink. And then the client will say, when the person’s at the sink, tipping out the coffee, for example, they say, Oh, I was going to say it was actually too hot, it’s only just cool enough to drink. So it’s actually not difficult. The things that people can do to be incredible in this space, it’s really just about treating people with dignity and respect as we should all be entitled to.
Andrea Petriwskyj 11:55
Yeah, and one of the things that that can be concerning is it can be really easy when someone sees something that isn’t right, or that they’re concerned about that it can be a bit too easy to move into acting for someone, rather than working with the client and supporting the client in that situation, can’t it?
12:17
Absolutely. And also, it is vital to have those conversations with the people that you’re working with. Because if they aren’t being, you know, if they’re not being engaged with in a really positive manner, and being empowered to do the things that they can do, not only does that contribute to that loss of identity and sense of self, but it also impacts their ability to do those things for themselves. When you’re thinking you know what, if I do these things for them, it’s actually going to be quicker and or make it easier, but what you’re actually doing is disempowering the older person around having any sort of sense or semblance of independence, you know, so being really aware about those things, and not coming in and doing everything for them, and then sort of leaving in a whirlwind because it it’s just counterproductive to the work that we’re doing. And at the end of the day, it really does lead to a decline in people’s health if you’re not engaging with them in the services that you’re providing. Yeah.
Andrea Petriwskyj 13:20
So what about in terms of you know, if you see something happening, that, you know, I’m not sure that this is right. How do you how do you as a care professional approach that in terms of seeking advice, seeking support for that person in a way that respects their autonomy and not jumping in and saying, Well, I’m going to advocate for you because you need to be advocated for?
13:44
Yeah, and I think that everything really just boils down to communication. So it might be that you saw something in someone’s home, just say, for example, that there was two staff members, or there was an allied health professional that was in the home doing something when I say that I was in the home doing some domestic assistance, and I caught a glimpse of something or heard something that I thought, that’s not quite right. But at the same time, not feeling like I want to jump in and be like, Excuse me, that is ridiculous, you know, because that can often be an issue, and also sort of creating the same issue where the person doesn’t have the right to speak or amplify their own voice. But maybe having a conversation and just saying, I noticed a look over your face when that person had said, you know, A, B or C, and I’m just wanting to check in and see, you know, is this something that you require some support with? Or, you know, there are pathways or avenues to sort of rectify these things. And I think we see in advocacy, the two camps of people, they’re people that really don’t want to complain at all. They’re like, No, no, that’s okay. They’re doing the best they can. There’s not a lot of resources, you know, even if it’s something that you go that’s actually Quite a big deal. You know, like you’re sort of think of it yourself. And then there’s people that are very happy to amplify their own voice. And they’ll often be the people that say, Excuse me, I don’t appreciate being spoken to like that. But that also relies on people’s, you know, individual capacity and needs being considered, because some people may have been a very strong advocate, and then sort of had a decline in that ability to amplify their own voice. And I think letting people guide their own journey and care and those types of things is just critical. Because sometimes there are things that if you just went, Okay, this is what we’re going to do A, B, and C, and you think that’s the best course of action. But when you chat to someone, they say, actually, now that we’ve noted this out a little bit more, I think I want to try and have the conversation. And then if I have no luck, let’s do that. So it might just be being a sounding board. But if you’ve gone in and said, All right, I’m gonna do A, B and C, that’s then done the exact opposite of what we’re trying to achieve. So I think when we’re rushing things, and not listening to people, or having those conversations, we really miss that opportunity for people to self direct the care that they receive. And having those that choice and control and agency over themselves as individuals is super, super important.
Andrea Petriwskyj 16:21
So what we’ve heard is that this part of the role of professional care or being an ally, or being an advocate, where it’s needed, really includes a range of things it might be about noticing when someone needs extra support, providing information, helping them connect to that support if they need you to. It might be about working alongside someone, whether they be a client or a family carer, to support them in a way that’s validating, and empowering. Or it might be speaking out or supporting someone to speak out on their own behalf when there’s something happening. That’s not right. So it’s important to know what avenues are available to ask questions to seek advice to connect people with services that could help them including advocacy and specialised support services. That’s today’s snack. Thank you so much for joining us and a big thank you to our guests for sharing their insights and ideas. If you want to find out more, you’ll find some great resources and other good stuff on our website Kota QL d.org.au. You’ll find links in the show notes. And please don’t forget to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts to make sure you get the next episode as soon as it’s out. Until next time, thanks again and goodbye from the coda Queensland team.
Andrea Petriwskyj 17:46
This podcast is part of the homecare workforce support programme, which receives grant funding from the Australian Government
