Aged Care - Other Resources

Contact
Jenny Dale
Program Co-ordinator - Aged Care
Email Jenny Dale
Tel.  9416 7689

Perceptions of dementia in ethnic communities - New Resource Kit 
Physical Activity Directory 
GP and Residential Aged Care Kit
Palliative Care Australia releases new glossary of terms
Systems that work well 
Working Together – GP/Aged Care Facility Checklists
CareSearch - website resources for GPs
 

Perceptions of dementia in ethnic communities - New Resource Kit
Alzheimer’s Australia Vic’s new Perceptions of Dementia in Ethnic Communities resource kit has just been launched. The handy and free resource kit is the first of its kind and uncovers the different ways in which ethnic communities living in Victoria perceive dementia. The resource kit is designed to help staff who are caring for people with dementia from ethnic backgrounds to develop a better understanding of how their clients perceive their condition.  It is the product of extensive consultations with 12 ethnic communities around Victoria:  Arabic, Croatian, Chinese, Greek, Italian, Macedonian, Polish, Russian, Serbian, Spanish, Turkish and Vietnamese.
The kit can be downloaded from the Alzheimer’s Australia website:
http://www.alzheimers.org.au/content.cfm?infopageid=5338

Physical Activity Directory
2007 Guide to Exercise for Older Adults
Directory of Physical Activity programs in and around the City of Whittlesea.  This resource has been put together by City of Whittlesea Council, North Central Metro Primary Care Partnerships and Plenty Valley Community Health.

GP and Residential Aged Care Kit
This kit, developed by North West Melbourne Division, is available via their website.
It has been circulated to all Aged Care Homes and Divisions of General Practice.

Palliative Care Australia releases new glossary of terms
Palliative Care Australia has released a new glossary of terms.  This document has been placed on the Division’s website. Click here to access.

Systems that work well
The original GP Panel project undertook a needs analysis of Aged Care facilities and GPs in the Melbourne and Northern Divisions of General Practice.  Many issues raised, such as medication management, were common problem areas to all groups. 

Activities identified as contributing to good practice included:

• A few core GPs care for the majority of residents, 4 to 8 residents per GP.
• GPs share care of residents with others in their practice (coverage for holidays, days off).
• GP Clinic within the aged care facility.
• Time and opportunity for GPs to develop long term relationship with aged care facility staff. 
• GPs understand aged care facility processes and imperatives.
• Aged care facilities understand GP pressures. 
• GP visits to aged care facilities are regular and planned. 
• Aged care facility provides support to GPs (staff to meet GP & discuss issues, paperwork and residents are available etc.) to maximise GP-resident contact time.

Working Together – GP/Aged Care Facility Checklists
These were developed as a guide for GPs and Aged Care Facilities to promote good medical care for residents. 
Click here for GP Checklist.
Click here for Aged Care Home GP check list

CareSearch - website resources for GPs
In March 2007, CareSearch launched pages on their website for General Practitioners. CareSearch is an online palliative care resource for those providing palliative care and those receiving palliative care.

The GP pages, written by Australian palliative care professionals are available at any time, drawing upon the evidence and research to guide GPs to materials and information to help them in providing quality palliative care. Click here to visit the website.