Improving care for CALD aged care communities makes a difference

Australia’s diverse multicultural community enriches our society every day. Many a migrant has made this country their home, growing roots and adding tastes and traditions to the definition of what it is to be Australian.

Like all Australians, their contributions are appreciated and acknowledged. And like all of us, their access to the highest quality of aged care shouldn’t change, regardless of where they’re from, their beliefs or their rituals.

At Benetas, we’re focussed on being sensitive to the needs of residents and clients who might not speak English particularly well, those who maintain their own customs and honour their heritage.

This focus is central to the way we approach care. We do our best to get to know a client, not just their medical needs or the services they’ve requested, but the amazing story they carry with them.

This point was also adopted in the new Aged Care Act, introduced in November. It was a key element that calls on providers to prioritise care that acknowledges individual life experiences, cultural practices and spiritual wellbeing.

Along with a new Statement of Rights, the Act increases options for culturally safe aged care assessments, enabling connection to culture while also increasing the government’s ability to act if services aren’t good enough.

Last month, the Federal Government recognised Benetas’ work in this space, awarding us with an almost $1 million grant to help continue providing this essential culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) support to home care clients.

The grant, combined with the Government’s Culturally, Ethnically and Linguistically Diverse Backgrounds Specialisation Verification, recognises Benetas’ capability to deliver tailored services to diverse communities. The verification is highlighted on the My Aged Care website for three years.

We were honoured to be recognised for this work and will use the grant to continue providing our 1,400-plus home care clients with cultural, religious and linguistic-appropriate care.

But there’s no one policy that addresses this need. It’s a collection of initiatives, relationships and services that allow clients to feel heard and unique while enhancing their ability to communicate and feel involved in their care.

Firstly, our people. We’re focussed on hiring home care employees and contractors that support culturally appropriate service delivery, including care planning and case management.

During care planning, clients are asked about their social and cultural needs, which guides care delivery to ensure services are tailored to each person’s cultural preferences.

We currently employ people from a range of backgrounds. This includes Greek, Italian, Croatian, German, Hindi, Indonesian, Burmese, Norwegian, Mandarin, Macedonian, Swahili, Bosnian, Turkish, Ukrainian, Hungarian, Cantonese, Korean, Polish, Arabic and Vietnamese heritages.

We also work with allied health providers, including those offering podiatry, occupational therapy and physiotherapy services. We work to match the provider with the client.

An example of this is our work with a Greek-speaking allied health provider that delivers podiatry, physiotherapy and occupational therapy services to Greek-speaking clients.

We’ve also partnered with specific cultural organisations to help clients build community and social ties with groups dedicated to people with Italian, Vietnamese, Greek, Maltese, Lebanese and Croatian backgrounds.

This is highlighted by some of our clients born in Italy. We currently support them to attend an Italian social support group Melbourne’s northwest, helping them build friendships with people who share similar life experiences, including migration and settlement stories.

We’ve developed videos in Italian, Greek and Turkish to help residents and the broader public understand permanent residential agreements.

We do this because we understand how important it is for clients to feel comfortable and to feel like their care is being catered to their expectations.

We will continue to develop new and effective ways to engage our culturally and linguistically diverse residents to improve their experience in residential aged care and home care settings.

It’s an honour to be recognised as a CALD provider because it’s a part of our service that we’ve worked hard on to implement for the benefit of all our clients.

Sandra Hills OAM
Benetas CEO