Two key themes emerged when we asked people if they had any messages for health providers – the first involved human care and contact and the second was a call for more resources in aged care from several participants located in the Northern Territory.
People we spoke with wanted doctors, nurses and anyone working in aged care to treat them with compassion. They wanted health providers to listen to them, to be tolerant, patient and understanding. Participants felt it was important that this was taught in health professional training as well as reinforced in the workplace.
Ron would like to see management staff at his aged care facility connecting more with the residents.
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There’s only one little thing, it’s probably only a little thing, but it’s something that I think if I was in their situation I would do, and I have yet to see it done in my short term. We have a change of staff, head staff, boss situations, and they just come in and they work from their office, and they do the job, I’m not concerned about their ability, and what they can do. But I have the feeling that if you applied for, took a job like the lady you met today, that I would be, not immediate – when I say, ‘immediate’, not all at once, but I would be visiting each resident and sitting down, and having a talk with them, and get to know them, and get them to know me. And over perhaps a period of – depending on how many there are, of course, over a month or something like that. But personally front up to them and explain – they’d have plenty of questions I’m sure. And make them feel a lot more relaxed to know there’s someone there that does feel for them.
Maree, a former nurse, thinks health providers should be patient and take their time in caring for people.
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Just be patient with them, you’ve got to be patient with old people, you just can’t bully them or boss them around. You’ve just got to be patient with them and have the patience to understand what they’re about, because there’s a lot of nurses today that don’t have patience, they just bully them, which I think they shouldn’t be in the job really.
I think important is treat people as you want to be treated if you were old, and don’t, as I said before don’t bully them, don’t push them, have patience. You’ve got a certain amount of patients which you’ve got to look after, but what I mean is there’s always time, you know, there’s always time to look after people. I never used to rush through my patients and I used to get finished on time, where a lot of girls said oh I’ve got to get through this, I’ve got to get through that, I can go and have a smoke or I can go and make a coffee, or I can do this and that. They bully them and they push them, to me it’s not right.
The only people to mention the need for more health resources for older people were from the Northern Territory. Val pointed out the lack of geriatric specialists within medical clinics. When Brian H was in hospital the shortage of nurses meant he had to wait up to half an hour after he pressed his call bell before he was seen. All three Aboriginal participants said their community required more resources for aged care, with a desire to train more Aboriginal doctors.
Guymun points out the need for residential aged care in her community because there are only daytime respite services and it is difficult for family members to look after the elderly.
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Guymun (translation): All the health workers, aged care workers and health workers here need more money. Give them money because they are working hard here at the aged care. So they can have beds, sheets, towels and good facilities for the old people. They need a good house, a big house because that’s important. They are working for aged care, old people.
Help, want help. Big help. Lots of people sick there, no room. But only resting place, and sleeping bayngu [nothing]. That I know, I see.
Do you mean there is no place to stay overnight?
Guymun (translation): Yo [yes].
Translator: Yo [yes].
Guymun (translation): Bayngu [nothing].
Is that important?
Guymun (translation): Important muka, because sometimes Yolngu people are not that co-operative in helping their relatives. Mothers are sick, fathers are sick, even the children are sick. Where will they get help from? Are we going to change home?
Translator: Mother, father are getting sick and where is their home, where is their care?
Oscar thinks it is important to have a doctor based in the community and would like to see more training for Aboriginal (Yolngu) doctors.
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We would like to have a doctor based here. I’m asking so that we could have really good service here. It is about the world that we live in together. It’s about the world but we are sharing things together. We should have service same, like any other communities in cities, you know. We should have a doctor permanently, not coming in and going out. And we need more funding to be able to employ more Yolngu to get more educated, get more education, you know to study more about doctors, so that we can do it sometimes ourselves. But we need more funding for this kind of businesses or work that Yolngu people want to do.
