Nursing home resident Merle Mitchell says aged care royal commission offers hope for the nation’s older generations

*6-year-old Merle Mitchell at her aged care facility in Glen Waverley. Picture: Aaron Francis

At an earlier aged care inquiry I attended a hearing with other older Australians where the person conducting the session said to us “It’s too late for you lot, but my generation won’t have to put up with what you have to put up with.”

He was wrong, and now is the time to prove it. It is not too late for any of us.

The royal commission’s final report offers hope not just for future generations, but for us in aged care right now.

The last two years during which the commission has done its work have lifted the spirits of older Australians. The community felt they finally had a voice, even if many of the stories have been horrific and difficult to hear.

The two Commissioners, the late Richard Tracey AM and Lynelle Briggs AO were deeply committed to consulting broadly. Tony Pagone QC became a Commissioner after Richard died. People were encouraged to make written submissions and many visits were made to facilities.

After I wrote my submission I was asked if I would agree to a formal hearing which would be recorded and made publicly available on the commission’s website.

A great deal of effort was made to enable the hearing to take place at the facility where I live because I was unable to travel. Everything was done to make me comfortable. The questions were searching and detailed. I was encouraged to be open and honest.

Afterwards Richard stayed behind to thank me and to tell me how important it was for them to have heard my lived experience.

He was right. Our voices are important. We must be listened to.

I worry about all this effort going to waste. Even before this commission there have been so many detailed reports on aged care.

So many discussions, so many meetings, so many written submissions to so many reviews! Enough is enough!

People have made it clear what is needed.

The structure of aged care facilities needs to change. Aged care facilities are large institutions structurally and not organised for compassionate, person-centred care, which the government says it is committed to.

Mental health needs to be recognised as being as important as physical health.

The number of staff, including trained nurses need to be markedly increased.

Training and selection of staff needs to be of a higher standard and recognise the complex and diverse range of needs of older people. Respect, dignity, diversity are central to providing person centred care. Current staffing levels mean staff cannot always provide this.

Food must be nutritious and inviting.

If the recommendations in the final report follow those in the commission’s interim report, they will be comprehensive.

And if the government doesn’t respond they will once again be letting down vast numbers of older Australians and their families, whether they are in aged care now or in the future.

Merle Mitchell is 86 years old and lives in residential aged care. She was former president of the Australian Council of Social Service