Digital advance care planning helps to ease the ambulance ramping crisis
Ambulance ramping cases have been described as the “canaries in the healthcare coalmine”, with escalating pressures on hospitals exposed by delays in the transfer of patients into emergency departments. In some instances, ambulances are “ramped” for hours outside hospitals, waiting for available beds, and the crisis is expected to continue as Australia’s population ages and […]
I have dementia – is it too late for an Advance Care Plan?
An Advance Care Plan needs to be made when you still have the mental capacity to make decisions about your health care, and to understand the consequences of your decisions. If someone cannot understand their options, or the consequences of those options then it is too late to complete an Advance Care Plan. However, if […]
7 Things to Consider Before Choosing an Aged Care Facility
Deciding on a Residential Aged Care Facility is an incredibly tough, yet very important decision to make. People often find themselves overcome by the options, and without the guidance to be able to make an informed choice. Here are the top seven things to consider before choosing an aged care facility. 1. Have you […]
Dementia: 5 ways you can help make a difference
There are many ways you can help with dementia – whether for yourself or for someone close to you. We’ve collected some of the easy ones here. Tell people your wishes Decide and tell others what medical care you do and do not want early – before people need to know. Careful Advance Care Plans […]
Dementia and decision-making capacity
The idea of capacity when it comes to decision making is complex. The word is not well understood, and it’s not as simple as having capacity or not having capacity. Health professionals may say someone “has” or “has not” capacity, meaning they can or cannot make decisions, yet this is often unhelpful as there are […]
Dementia, Swallowing, Memory Boxes and Capacity for Decision Making – lessons from Speech Pathologists.
People with Dementia often “lose their swallow.” This is not often known yet it causes aspiration pneumonia (things going down the wrong way) and is often the reason doctors give a “Nil By Mouth” order. There are however things you can do. Here Colleen Kerr talks about her wish for a Masterfood Challenge where the […]
Speech Pathology: Swallow, Advance Care Plans and Decisions about Eating
Between them, Colleen Kerr and Dijana Dragicevich have seen it all. Whether you have a new diagnosis of stroke or your parent with dementia is “losing their swallow” these savvy Speech Pathologists have tricks and techniques to help you or your loved one live their best life, all their life. Most impressively they can help […]
