{"id":8306,"date":"2020-09-21T10:16:25","date_gmt":"2020-09-21T10:16:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/?p=8306"},"modified":"2020-09-21T10:16:25","modified_gmt":"2020-09-21T10:16:25","slug":"lifting-the-burden-for-those-living-with-dementia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/2020\/09\/21\/lifting-the-burden-for-those-living-with-dementia\/","title":{"rendered":"Lifting the burden for those living with dementia"},"content":{"rendered":"

Helping lift the burden for people living with dementia and those who care for them is the focus of an awareness campaign across Australia this week.
\nWith the theme \u201cA little support makes a lot of difference\u201d, Dementia Action Week starts today, World Alzheimer\u2019s Day.
\nMinister for Aged Care and Senior Australians, Richard Colbeck, said both initiatives provide an opportunity to help those grappling with the difficult health diagnosis.
\nAround Australia more than 447,000 people live with dementia.
\nAlzheimer\u2019s is the most common form.
\n\u201cIt is very confronting, not just for the individual, but for their family and friends,\u201d Minister Colbeck said.
\nHe said the correct support could make all the difference \u2013 particularly as COVID-19 continues to present challenges for aged care facilities across Australia.
\n\u201cDementia already affects nearly half a million Australians and the number is rising rapidly,\u201d Minister Colbeck said.
\n\u201cFor Australia, and similar countries around the world, it represents a huge health challenge.
\n\u201cWhile dementia is a progressive condition, people can continue to live active and happy lives for many years after diagnosis.
\n\u201cThey deserve support not just from their families but from the community as a whole, to allow them to live their best lives as long as possible.\u201d
\nBy following appropriate infection control protocols, it is important aged care providers continue to allow visitation for dementia patients and their families during the pandemic, Minister Colbeck said.
\nHe urged all providers to consider the industry-agreed Aged Care Visitor Access Code which ensures the response to the pandemic was proportionate and in the best interests of the residents.
\nDementia Action Week is organised by Dementia Australia, which receives Government funding of $38 million over three years from 2019 to 2022 to deliver the National Dementia Support Program.
\nAs well as improving awareness and understanding, the program connects people living with dementia with services that support them to self-manage and live well for as long as possible.
\nDementia Australia launched an ongoing campaign to reduce discrimination against people with dementia in May 2020.
\nIt aims to increase dementia awareness and understanding, across the public, consumers, and healthcare professionals.
\nIt is also delivering the Government\u2019s $3.7 million Dementia Friendly Communities program.
\nAdditionally, the Specialist Dementia Care Program funds specialist dementia care units in residential aged care homes.
\nThe units provide specialised care to people with very severe behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia and aim to reduce or stabilise symptoms so that people can move into less intensive care settings.
\nMinister Colbeck said a further investment of $185 million in the Dementia, Ageing and Aged Care Mission was also providing much needed support.
\n\u201cThis vital investment continues to drive support for our researchers as they look for more effective treatments, as well as ways to prevent Alzheimer\u2019s and improve brain health,\u201d Minister Colbeck said.
\nDementia Action Week continues until Sunday, 27 September.
\nMore information can be found\u00a0here<\/a>.
\nThe Aged Care Visitor Access Code can be found\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Helping lift the burden for people living with dementia and those who care for them is the focus of an awareness campaign across Australia this week. With the theme \u201cA little support makes a lot of difference\u201d, Dementia Action Week starts today, World Alzheimer\u2019s Day. Minister for Aged Care and Senior Australians, Richard Colbeck, said … Continue reading “Lifting the burden for those living with dementia”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8306","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aussie"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8306","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8306"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8306\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8306"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8306"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8306"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}