Aged Care Services for Older Aged Patients in Australia

This report discusses the challenges faced by older aged patients in accessing healthcare facilities in Australia. It covers the clinical scenario of Ms. Florence 'Flo' Ljukata and her husband Lionel, both older aged patients. The report discusses the various healthcare services available for older aged patients, including general practitioners, health specialists, and residential care homes. It also highlights the importance of interdisciplinary referrals and the role of nurses in patient care.

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Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY ..................................................................................................................................1
Aged care service /packages...................................................................................................1
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................................5
REFERENCES ...............................................................................................................................6
Books and Journals ................................................................................................................6

INTRODUCTION
Nursing comprises with collaborative and autonomous care of patients of all age groups,
community and families. It deals with prevention of illness, promotion of health and care of
disable, dying and ill patients. Nurses play a vital role in patient care as they provide all the
appropriate medication and quality patient care service. Community nurses are responsible to
provide treatments to patients. They also offer education to all the members of community with
the purpose to maintain their health and reduce occurrence of death and diseases. Older aged
people face more difficulties to access the healthcare facilities as they need extra care and
support to improve their health. In the given case study, the discussion will cover clinical
scenario of Ms. Florence 'Flo' Ljukata and her husband Lionel. Flo is a 70 years old whereas her
husband Lionel is 84 years old. Lionel is living with physical disabilities due to stroke and
recently diagnosed with dementia. In this report, all the questionaries regarding the case study
are tried to be answered.
MAIN BODY
Aged care service /packages
A number of older aged people are living without care and support in Australia due to
challenges and difficulties facing informal and formal care system in Australia. There are
numerous service and programs are available for Australian older aged patients. Health care
services are provided by specialist, health care professionals and medical practitioners at clinics
and hospitals. Two primary health care services for older aged people people in Australia
includes general practitioners and health specialists. General practitioners play vital role as front
line workers of Australian health care system. General practitioners are reliable to treat a broad
range of health complications and usually patient contact them if they face any health issue.
Almost, all of the Australian older aged patient see a general practitioner. Patient is facing
difficulty for hospital visits and general practitioner will assist her to reduce the number of
hospital visits and improve the heath (Marshall and et. al., 2019). Studies found that 3.7 million
older aged patient see a general practitioner at once when they fall sick. Half of the population of
these are aged 60-69. General practitioner will treat all the medical condition and transfer the
patient to specialist. Flo was attending the clinic regularly. Since, 12 month she was facing
difficulties for hospital visits as she did not drive and not able to catch public transport with her
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husband. General practitioner will assist both of them to focus on their mental and physical
health (Pu, Moyle, 2022). Australian older aged [patents may access their health care services
through residential and community based services. In residential care homes both of the patients
will get 24 hours care services. In the given case study, flo and her husband do not have any
carer at their home who can provide medications on time. In such cases residential care home
services are preferred instead of hospitals and clinics. Residential care home services provides
professional medical care and a environment which assists patients to keep themselves calm and
relax. Residential care home facilities are helpful for the rapid recovery of the patient. Flo and
her husband will get 24 hours nursing facilities which will facilitate all their healthcare
requirements. Residential care homes will make them feel safe and comfort and facilitate a long-
term care facility. Care assistance will be there who will assist them for their healthcare
management and facilitate their routine health check-up. Transportation is found a key issue for
older aged patient as they find hard to drive when they are living with disabilities. In some
cases, patient face difficult to catch public transport and do not get their routine check-up on
time. Residential care homes are best to reduce these kinds of barriers and provides all the care
facilities under one shelter. Lionel is living with physical disability and needs supervision as he
likes to walk off. An assistance or nurse is required to assist in his regular activities (Li and et.
al., 2019).
Interdisciplinary referrals deal with a team, having numerous team members, from
different disciplines who work together to promote the health and facilitate care services. A team
of healthcare professionals provides services to the patient to meet his medical requirements and
assist the patient in diagnosis and treatments. Interdisciplinary approach helps to develop care
plans for the patients which are implemented for their health improvement. This approach creates
a healthcare plan to meet patient's needs. In the given case study, Leo and her husband need a
healthcare team to work collaboratively to improve their health. They need two healthcare team
working collaboratively to improve their health (Kua and et. al., 2019). A team of physicians is
required for their weekly check up which involves different specialist with the purpose to treat
diseases such as stoke and dementia. They also need a team of nurses and carers who can
facilitate 24 hours care facilities to them and assist doctors to evaluate their daily health report.
Leo has wound in her legs, a nurse is required for dressing and to provide medicines on time.
Leo's husband is diagnosed with dementia and often forget to take his medicines. Nurse will
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assist him take his medicines on time. Specialist are required to help Lionel to get recover from
dementia. Physicians team need to collaborate a heart specialist who will assist in management
of stoke. Vascular neurologists may be consulted as they are specialized in cardiovascular
diseases. Endo-vascular therapy can be provided by vascular neurologist for the management of
stroke. As Flo is suffering from diabetic foot wound, a endocrinologist need to be collaborated
for the management of diabetes as well (Hajarizadeh and et. al., 2018).
The main goal of the services provided to the patient is to improve their current health
status. Patients are completely dependent and don not have carer who can take care of them. In
this situation they need extra care and support to improve their health. Residential care home
services facilitate 24 hours care facilities to the patients to improve their health. All the
appropriate medicines are provided in order to treat illness. Medical attendants are there to assist
doctors as well as patients for the management and treatment. Residential care home facilitate a
safe and comfortable environment to the patient to make them feel calm and relax.
Interdisciplinary approach eliminate risk and it is very beneficial to meet patient's health
requirements. It improves patient health outcome and satisfaction. General practitioner services
assess patient's health, run diagnostics tests, advise patients to modify their lifestyle, develops
treatment plans, prescribes medications, discuss medical history and symptoms and provides all
the information associated with the health and treatments (Dillsand et. al., 2018).
Both the patients need extra care and support to improve their health as they have nobody
at home who can take care of them. General practitioner would assist them to assess their health
and treatments. Flo and her husband are unable to take care of themselves. They are facing
difficulty for hospital visits. Thus, residential care home services are preferred as they assist to
reduce hospital visits. Both the patients will get 24 hours nursing services at the residential home.
All the appropriate medications are provided by healthcare professionals. They will get a safe
and comfortable environment which is good for their mental health. Two interdisciplinary team
are referred for the patients care management. Physicians and working collaboratively with
nurses to improve patient's health (Ries, 2022). Lionel is a heart patient and vascular neurologist
has been consulted for the treatment and management of stroke. Neurologists has been consulted
to treat dementia. 24 hours nursing services assist them to take their medicine on time. They will
get appropriate diet for their weight management and helps to treat diabetes (Dills and et. al.,
2018).
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Flo is a 70 years old woman who is suffering with diabetic foot wound, needs a
endocrinologist who is a diabetes specialist. This assist her to mange her blood glucose level. 24
hours nursing services assist her to take appropriate diet and medicine for the management of
diabetes. Nurses will assist her for dressing which will protect her from infection. She finds
difficulty with hospital visits as she can not drive vehicle and catch public transports. Staying at
residential care home will assist her to eliminate the barriers to access healthcare services
(Corbett & Bridges,2019).
Flo's geographical location creates a barrier to health and care services as she lives in
remote area and it is located far from hospitals and local communities. She is not able to access
healthcare facilities (Thillainadesan and et. al.,2018). She is suffering delay delivery of
medication as she does not have any dispensary nearby her house. She is diabetic patient and not
getting insulin therapy as it is not available in medical institution. She is facing difficulties with
catching public transport for hospitals visits. She is not able to get appropriate medicines due to
lack of information.
In the given case study, both the patients are not getting appropriate medical facilities.
They are not taking appropriate medicines. Lack of information is a big risk factor for averse
drug event. Patient may take inappropriate medicines which can cause adverse drug event. Lack
of transportation is a big challenge faced by the patient as she is not getting the access to
healthcare facilities. Transportation barriers does not allow her to access her routine check up.
Unavailability of pure water to her locality may enhances the chances for infection. Her family
members are too busy to take care of her (Trevisan and et. al., 2019). Consumption of alcohol
may interrupt the medication and she needs to completely avoid consuming alcohol. Stress and
consumption of alcohol are considered as two biggest risk factor for the adverse drug event.
Level of stress can may her feel depressed. Lionel often becomes agitated. Elevated stress level
can make him feel aggressive and anxious (Barbabella and et. al., 2018).
She has administered metformin because she is suffering with diabetic foot wound.
Metformin is used to treat high blood glucose level. Metformin is effective to treat type 2
diabetes. In type 2 diabetes, pancreas is not capable to get sugar into cells within the body and
level of sugar in the blood get elevated. Metformin is often administered orally, 1-3 times in a
day. Salbutamol inhaler is used by the patient to relieve symptoms of asthma. Salbutamol is used
to treat the asthmatic symptoms such as coughing, feeling breathless and wheezing. Salbutamol
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causes vasodilation in the airways which makes breathing easier. Salbutamol often comes in the
form of puffer or inhaler. It indicates that patient may suffer with asthma. Since 12 months, Flo
is not going for her routine check up and taking the same medicines what she has been prescribed
previously. She need to check her current health status and get new prescribed medicines as per
reports. 24 hour nursing health services will assist Flo and her husband to avoid the consumption
of alcohol and minimizes the level of stress. Appropriate medicines and diet provided by nurse
will assist them for the management of their illness. Nurse will also assist Lionel to access his
routine activities (Baker and et. al.., 2020).
CONCLUSION
From the above essay, it has been concluded that nurses play vital role in the recovery
and management of diseases. Older aged people requires extra care and support as they get older.
24 hours care facilities are required to improve their health. Nurses develop healthcare plan for
the patient to improve his health. In the above case study, Flo and her husband, both were older
aged patient, who were not getting the access of healthcare facilities. Healthcare services has
been provided to improve their current health status. Interdisciplinary referrals has been also
identified and a team of physicians are working collaboratively with nurses and specialist for the
care of the patient.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Baker, S., Waycott, J., Robertson, E., Carrasco, R., Neves, B. B., Hampson, R., & Vetere, F.
(2020). Evaluating the use of interactive virtual reality technology with older adults living
in residential aged care. Information Processing & Management, 57(3), 102105.
Barbabella, F., Poli, A., Santini, S., & Lamura, G. (2018). The role of informal caregivers in
Long-Term Care for Older People. Cultures of care in aging. Charlotte: Information Age
Publishing, 193-212.
Corbett, T., & Bridges, J. (2019). Multimorbidity in older adults living with and beyond
cancer. Current opinion in supportive and palliative care, 13(3), 220-224.
Dills, H., Shah, K., Messinger-Rapport, B., Bradford, K., & Syed, Q. (2018). Deprescribing
medications for chronic diseases management in primary care settings: a systematic review
of randomized controlled trials. Journal of the American Medical Directors
Association, 19(11), 923-935.
Dills, H., Shah, K., Messinger-Rapport, B., Bradford, K., & Syed, Q. (2018). Deprescribing
medications for chronic diseases management in primary care settings: a systematic review
of randomized controlled trials. Journal of the American Medical Directors
Association, 19(11), 923-935.
Hajarizadeh, B., Grebely, J., Matthews, G. V., Martinello, M., & Dore, G. J. (2018). Uptake of
direct‐acting antiviral treatment for chronic hepatitis C in Australia. Journal of viral
hepatitis, 25(6), 640-648.
Kua, C. H., Mak, V. S., & Lee, S. W. H. (2019). Health outcomes of deprescribing interventions
among older residents in nursing homes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of
the American Medical Directors Association, 20(3), 362-372.
Li, T. C., Li, C. I., Liu, C. S., Lin, W. Y., Lin, C. H., Yang, S. Y., ... & Lin, C. C. (2019). Visit-
to-visit blood pressure variability and hip fracture risk in older persons. Osteoporosis
International, 30(4), 763-770.
Marshall, K. M., Loeliger, J., Nolte, L., Kelaart, A., & Kiss, N. K. (2019). Prevalence of
malnutrition and impact on clinical outcomes in cancer services: a comparison of two time
points. Clinical nutrition, 38(2), 644-651.
Pu, L., & Moyle, W. (2022). Restraint use in residents with dementia living in residential aged
care facilities: A scoping review. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 31(13-14), 2008-2023.
Ries, N. M. (2022). Enduring powers of attorney and financial exploitation of older people: A
conceptual analysis and strategies for prevention. Journal of Aging & Social Policy, 34(3),
357-374.
Thillainadesan, J., Gnjidic, D., Green, S., & Hilmer, S. N. (2018). Impact of deprescribing
interventions in older hospitalised patients on prescribing and clinical outcomes: a
systematic review of randomised trials. Drugs & aging, 35(4), 303-319.
Tian, X. (2018). Research on the realization path of smart old-age care in Suzhou based on
intelligent recommendation system. Journal of Intelligent & Fuzzy Systems, 35(3), 3051-
3063.
Trevisan, C., Gallinari, G., Klumpp, R., Menon, A., & Compagnoni, R. (2019). Year to year
comparison of 2000–2015 in hip fracture management: same survival rate despite older
and more fragile patients. Aging Clinical and Experimental Research, 31(8), 1097-1103.
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