The NSW North Coast has a rapidly ageing population with health issues that primary practitioners may sometimes find challenging.
The HealthPathways team has been revising aged care pathways and creating new ones to provide information and help healthcare professionals navigate the system when looking after older members of the community.
‘We’re in the process of reviewing, updating and simplifying all our aged care pathways,’ said HealthPathways Clinical Editor Dr Hilton Koppe.
‘We’ve just updated the Aged Care Assessment pathway, which lists all the services that are available through My Aged Care, eligibility criteria and how you access them. Hopefully it makes assisting people through My Aged Care more efficient and effective.’
My Aged Care is the Australian Government’s starting point on the aged care journey, with information on services, care, assessment and providers.
Dr Koppe said most recently, the Unexpected Deterioration in an Older Person pathway had been added to the suite of information already available on Older Persons’ Health.
He said another HealthPathway, Delirium, went hand-in-hand with Unexpected Deterioration in an Older Person and had also been updated.
‘Delirium is often the trigger for unexpected deterioration,’ Dr Koppe said. ‘It’s so important that those things are managed well. Undiagnosed and untreated delirium has a very high mortality rate in older people.
‘We’re also in the process of updating the Delirium Action Plan that can be found on both of those pathways.’
Dr Koppe is involved with Dementia Training Australia, educating GPs and practice nurses to help broaden their knowledge and increase their confidence in dealing with people living with dementia.
He collaborates with general practitioners Marita Long and Steph Daly to produce a fortnightly 30-minute podcast series Dementia in Practice. They share their professional and personal experiences with dementia through conversations with a range of interesting guests.
Upcoming episodes include ‘End of life care for people with dementia’ and ‘COVID and dementia’. You can find the Dementia in Practice podcast wherever you get your podcasts or on the Dementia Training Australia website.