Aged Care

While many older Australians are living longer and healthier lives, many have mental and physical health concerns and lack appropriate access to primary care, as well as opportunities for social interaction and economic engagement.

Our Priorities

• Improving older people’s access to timely and safe care
• Increasing the uptake of advance care planning
• Increasing the amount of GP-led health assessments for people aged 75 years and older
• Increasing the delivery of primary care in residential aged care facilities.

Key Activities

Psychological Therapy in Residential Aged Care Facilities Initiative: Low intensity, evidence-based psychological therapies and support services for people residing in aged care facilities with a diagnosed mental illness and those at risk of mental illness. Treatment is provided by registered and clinical psychologists onsite and was adapted during COVID-19 to support telehealth consultations.

Advance Project: A unique opportunity to work with general practice to build the capacity of everyone in the team to initiate informed discussions with patients about advance care planning and palliative care.

Great Southern Compassionate Communities Project:  Increasing community awareness around end of life and empowering people to live and die well in their place of choice.

Lower Great Southern Age Friendly Charter: Serves to define the values and aspirations of older community members and how, together with service providers and government we can provide more opportunities for people to live long, healthy and happy lives.

Key Achievements

• Provided about 2000 psychological treament sessions to people living in aged care facilities across WA with, or at risk of, a diagnosed mental illness.
• Supported 184 GPs in 16 practices to build their capacity to initiate informed discussions with patients about advance care planning and palliative care.
• Partnered with the City of Albany, Shire of Denmark and the Shire of Plantagenet to develop the Lower Great Southern Age Friendly Charter - nine key aspirations for the community, services providers and government to work together to support the ageing population within a local context.