Australia’s Aged Care ‘Honour’ problem!

Recently there has been a particular focus on the problems in the way elderly people are treated in aged care homes in Australia. Such a despicable situation was exposed in some settings, that the Prime Minister called for a Commission to investigate.  Subsequently there was a bit of 'conversation' in the media on the topic, including an article I read.

Because of our family's current experience, I am particularly atuned to this topic.  

But what is of interest to me is how the media conversation on this aged care issue, is using so much 'honour' terminology.  

The article I read didn't talk much about rules and regulations, but about the problem of how we do or do not value the elderly in our society.  The article used a great deal of honour/shame related vocabulary.

What is essentially being talked about in this article, is a call for a change in our societal collective 'honour-code' - a term and concept addressed in the book 'The Honor Code' by Kwame Anthony Appiah. 

It's about recognising that change comes about when we change what and who we honour and value.  Changing or increasing rules and regulations and penalties for breaking them doesn't change the heart of people.  Without using the exact words, this article called for society to have a change of 'heart' in who we 'honour'. It is calling for regognising not just what we 'do' but who we 'are'. (...mind you the elderly still have a lot they can 'do' even though it might not be obvious - they can teach! There is so much we can learn by interacting with the elderly, if we only took the time, that would enrich our lives, grow our knowledge and wisdom and increase our appreciation for them.)

But here are some examples and quotes (in italics), showing the honour-shame emphasis of the article:

Dishonour is about negative stereotyping, rejection, marginalisation:

The commission needs to go beyond the institutional problems at individual aged care facilities, as these are a symptom of a much broader rejection of ageing in society and marginalisation of older people.

Negative stereotyping of older people is reinforced in the media, and this both informs and reflects societal attitudes.

What Society honours is what society values, and when that honour emphasis is an achieved honour for what we 'do', there can be a reciprocal lack of ascribed honour for who we 'are':

Our value is largely determined by our economic contributions to society. But for many older people, this is difficult to demonstrate because they're no longer in the workforce.

However, it is important that older people are not considered redundant in their societal role when dependency increases.

Honour is about status:

Within the healthcare sector, aged care has the lowest status of all specialty areas among nurses and doctors.

Honour is about respect:

Encouraging more healthcare professionals to enter the aged care sector will require a multi-pronged approach, starting with finding ways to engender more professional respect for those working in the field.

Honour is about people and relationships not just rules and regulations:

This requires strategies to build better relationships between residents and staff

What we honour is about what we value:

We have an opportunity to reconstruct the delivery of residential aged care. Let's begin with the end in mind: a society that not only values older people, but values the resources required to provide the care they need and deserve.

Honour is about recognition and priority - being seen as important and special:

Greater emphasis also needs to be placed on improving the gerontological expertise of aged care workers. This can be strengthened by prioritising aged care in medical school education and recognising "nursing home" care as a specialist medical area.

Increased funding and oversight will only come when we collectively say it's important.

When I began my Nursing degree, I don't recall anyone in my year aiming to become an aged care nurse. I had even worked in an aged care facility, yet I was aiming to become a mid-wife. I enjoyed the work in the aged care facility, but it wasn't a career priority for me.  

If I, who actually enjoyed working with older people, and saw them as valuable as anyone else in God's eyes, didn't prioritise aged care nursing as a goal after graduation, I am not exactly suprised it has little interest for so many. 

With modern society seeing the elderly as obsolete contributors to the community, no wonder we have created a society that attributes little importance to the elderly and their care. After all, despite this current conversation on needing to care for the elderly honourably, there is another conversation about euthenasia going on, which is diametrically opposed to the value and contribution of those who are old, ill, and needing care.

But apart from that incongruence, this current focus is a reminder of the changing shift in thinking of the current generation - that honour, respect and value is important apart from what we 'do'.  It's a welcome new focus, and a needed new focus in a time when Aussie culture has gone to an extreme emphasis of laws, rules, and regulations as if they were the be-all and end-all of properly functioning society.

Now it behoves the church to continue to recognise this shift and work with it in bringing a godly and biblical perspective to this honour-shame focus, so that it doesn't just become a secular change but is a sacred change as well. 

It's not just about current society saying the elderly are of value and should be honoured, but that God as Creator says that the elderly are important and deserving of right and proper honour in His eyes.