COTA helps identify gaps in Territory aged care

19 Jun 2018

The Seniors Month August 2018 calendar is off to the printers shortly.  Remember that if you missed the print deadline, you can still add your event to the online Territory Seniors Calendar, which is available through our website all year round.  We will be adding all event listings received by us for the print calendar to this calendar too. August certainly promises to be an eventful and busy time.

On another note, COTA NT met with the Primary Health Network (PHN) to discuss and identify gaps and opportunities related to aged care and healthy ageing. The NT Primary Health Network is funded by the Commonwealth Department of Health to commission primary health care services throughout the NT. One of the biggest gaps identified is the lack of nursing homes and the actual My Aged Care system.  What will assist in identifying issues will be COTA NT’s survey coming soon and which will be Territory-wide.  You may recall that COTA NT did a survey in 2014/5. The 2018 survey enhance this survey and provide more focus on the needs of seniors ageing in the Territory. The survey will also assist in determining what other factors may retain our seniors, as well as family and connection to community. 

COTA NT plays an important advocacy role, not just in the Darwin area, but Territory-wide.  COTA NT represents seniors through the committees that COTA participates in including The Ministerial Advisory Council for Senior Territorians, The Power and Water Consumer Advisory Council, City of Darwin Access and Inclusion Committee, the Australian Network for Universal Housing Design, Point to Point Access and Mobility – to mention a few.

COTA NT will be attending the National Policy Reform in Canberra, where the focus will be on Ageism, Policy Reforms to My Aged Care and a host of national issues that affect Territorians.

~ Sue Shearer, CEO, COTA NT

Tags: Seniors Voice