Senior Safety
In Australia, falls are the major cause of injury-related deaths and hospitalisations in people aged over 65 years. It's estimated that one in three older Australians will fall each year and this rate will substantially increase with age. Even if a fall does not result in injury, a fear of falling can lead to anxiety, social withdrawal, restriction of daily activities and increased dependence.
In Queensland, the lifetime cost of injuries caused by falls has reached $750 million, which is twice as much as injuries caused on the roads. As a result of the ageing population, this cost is expected to increase to more than $1 billion by 2021, and almost $1.5 billion by 2051. Most falls in older people are preventable and predictable.
Another area of safety concern for seniors is their increasing vulnerability to crimes committed through the Internet.
Senior citizens, like everyone else, have the right to feel safe at all times, and research shows that those who appear confident and take security precautions are less likely to be victims of crime.
History
The Senior Safety working group was reformed in 2005 after a period of inactivity and consists of representatives from the Department of Communities, Queensland Police Service, Mackay Regional Council, Domestic Violence Resource Service, the community and Queensland Health whose role involves enhancing the safety and well-being of older people.
Early in 2009, after amalgamation of Mackay City, Sarina Shire, and Mirani Shire Councils into the Mackay Regional Council, a review of the Senior Safety working group identified emerging resources in the community to address senior safety. The new Council gave a stronger focus to seniors with the establishment of the Seniors Interagency Network and the Healthy Ageing Reference Group. These initiatives aimed to provide greater opportunities for senior residents to access and influence Council policies and programs. Accordingly, the newly-formed Healthy Ageing Reference Group was chosen as the location for work to support senior safety in the Mackay region.
Membership of the Healthy Ageing Reference Group includes representatives from seniors groups in the region (specifically 50& Better, National Seniors Australia, Older Women's Network, and HACC Transport Mackay), from business (Lend Lease (Caneland Central)), from Goverment (Mackay Regional Council, Qld Health, Qld Police Service), and from non-Government agencies (Home Assist Sercure, and Mackay Regional Council for Social Development).
Since its inception, the Healthy Ageing Reference Group has maintained a focus on senior safety by:
- Partnering with Qld Health to facilitate an awareness-raising session with physical activity providers (both community-based and for-profit) about the needs of seniors
- Encouraging and supporting physical activity providers to offer a broader range of programs suitable for seniors
- Publishing, in partnership with Qld Health, the 2009 Mackay and District Stay on Your Feet Active Living Directory - a directory of physical activities programs and services available to seniors in the Mackay Regional Council area
- Offering, with funds provided through Qld Health's "Stay on Your Feet" program, a range of physical activity programs for seniors, throughout th rural localities of the region
- Engaging with Lend Lease (Caneland Central) in the redevelopment of its local shopping centre to ensure the physical needs of seniors are considered
The Healthy Ageing Reference Group is also keenly aware of, and strongly supports, the work of the Rural Safety Working Group in addressing safety issues for seniors in rural areas of the region.
Objectives
The Healthy Ageing Reference Group's main objectives include:
- To increase awareness within Mackay Regional Council, and in the broader community, of the issuesand concerns of older residents
- To build effective working relationships with Government and non-Government agencies involved in supporting older residents
- To identify areas of need in relation to older residents and develop effective and culturally-appropriate strategies to address them
- To format the information discovered (through #3 above) into a Healthy Ageing Policy and Action Plan under the mandate of Mackay Regional Council
- To encourage Mackay Regional Council to adopt a Healthy Ageing Policy and Action Plan and to assign resources to implement the strategies contained in the Action Plan
- To monitor an evaluate the design and implementation of Mackay Regional Council's Healthy Ageing Policy and Action Plan, when it is in place
- To refer information that is outside the responsibility of Mackay Regional Council to appropriate agencies, and to advocate for appropriate responses.