Migrant organisations say they want culturally appropriate services to feature in the Aged Care Royal Commission announced last month.
A group of Muslim seniors in Sydney is enjoying fresh air and exercise as it gathers for some rigorous physiotherapy. Most in the group live at home but, for some, it is a chance to venture away from the aged-care facilities where they live. And not all of them are happy to return at the end of the day. One woman spoke to SBS requested anonymity.
A 72-year-old Egyptian man, Ali Hassan, says he dreads the thought of eventually having to enter aged care. Like many migrants, recent stories of abuse and neglect have reinforced his anxieties about such institutions.
Following revelations of shocking cases of abuse and neglect, the Federal Government announced last month it has established a royal commission into the quality of aged care. Migrant organisations say they want culturally appropriate services to feature in the inquiry.
The Federation of Ethnic Communities Councils, or FECCA, says besides focusing on staff numbers and training to prevent abuses, the royal commission needs to examine culturally appropriate care. Chief executive Emma Campbell says she looks forward to the commission spotlighting the sector's failings in that area.
Ms Campbell says another issue to be considered is the need to fulfil residents' spiritual and cultural needs at the end of their lives.
The main body representing Australian aged-care providers says either the Government or aged-care residents themselves are going to have to bear the costs of extra, culturally appropriate services.
In response to questions from SBS, Leading Age Services Australia chief executive Sean Rooney replied in an official statement.
Last December, the Federal Government announced what it calls an Aged Care Diversity Framework.
But Aged Care Minister Ken Wyatt has similarly declined to directly answer questions about culturally appropriate care and the funding for it. He says, however, he wants the royal commission's terms of reference to be as inclusive as possible.
The chief executive of the community group Muslim Care says he doubts it is possible to offer culturally appropriate care in all general facilities, because of costs and the large number of cultures involved. Instead, Ahmed Mokachar says he has plans for the group's first ethno-specific, Muslim-only home in Sydney. He says the idea is to help, among others, dementia sufferers, who tend to revert to their first language.
After her physio session, the unhappy aged-care resident at the start of the story reveals she is keen to be transferred to a Turkish facility, closer to her own culture.
