BED BLOCK P4: With Val Fell - A personal perspective on bed block

Aged Care, Ageing and Dementia Advocate, Val Fell joins Nicky to give a very personal account of being a patient who has experienced the impact of bed block. A member of the Minister’s Council of Elders and the National Older Persons’ Reference Group, Val was taken into hospital for a medical emergency and spent 3 weeks in a locked geriatric dementia ward – despite not having dementia and having spent decades working for better outcomes for people living with dementia and their carers. Val explores the impact of ageism, recounts personal experiences of ageism and reflects on how ageism is behind much of the lack of services for older people. She speaks about her hopes for the new Aged Care Act with its focus on keeping the older person at the centre. On finally returning home from hospital, Val was assessed for a Home Care Package, but at 96 years of age has been waiting over 6 months. Despite this, Val continues to fight for the rights of older people, continues to inform Government policy, and continues her work to support people living with dementia and their carers.

Music Credit:

"Jarvic 8" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Acknowledgement of Country

Community Industry Group' podcast is recorded on beautiful Dharawal Country, and we acknowledge the traditional custodians of this land, and their Elders.

We acknowledge and respect their continuing culture, the world’s oldest living culture, and the contribution they make to the life of this region and our country.

We acknowledge that we live and work on Aboriginal land and recognise the strength, resilience and capacity of Aboriginal people.