Elderly Territorians are missing out on much-needed support both at home and in COVID-affected aged care facilities across the NT, says a leading advocate.
Elderly Territorians are sometimes waiting more than a month to receive at-home support due to a chronic shortage of aged care workers made worse by the pandemic, says a leading advocate.Nine aged care homes in the NT are battling COVID-19 outbreaks, with the Australian Defence Force assisting three of themAdvocates warn of the mental health dangers facing elderly Territorians in isolation
In one case, an elderly person in Alice Springs waited up to six weeks to get help in their home, according to Sue Shearer, chief executive of Council on the Ageing NT."That's the worry of people in an aged care facility and at home: Who is their voice? Who will talk for them?Ms Shearer voiced her concerns as nine aged care homes across the Northern Territory battle coronavirus outbreaks, with the Australian Defence Force assisting in three separate facilities.
In a statement, a spokeswoman for the federal Department of Health said: "At present, the department is aware of 10 residential and flexible aged care facilities experiencing outbreaks in the Northern Territory, with at least two expected to come out of lockdown within the next 24 hours." "The ADF is providing support to three sites in the Northern Territory experiencing outbreaks," she said., the worst-hit facility in the NT is Hetti Perkins, an Indigenous service in Alice Springs.
As of Thursday, the number of cases linked to the outbreak at Hetti Perkins stood at 74, of which 47 were residents and 27 were staff members.
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