New respite centre for South East Asian community

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PDF printable version of New respite centre for South East Asian community (PDF 19 KB)

8 May 2008

Minister for Ageing Justine Elliot and Federal Member for Lowe John Murphy today opened a respite care service for those with a South East Asian background.

Mrs Elliot said dementia sufferers and their carers will now be able to get much needed support from an innovative and culturally considerate respite service.

“The So Wai Lifestyle Activity Centre located in Burwood - will provide day respite services for dementia sufferers and their carers,” Mrs Elliot said.

“The centre will provide a variety of activities to help people with dementia retain daily living skills – such as cooking, washing and exercise.

“As well as provide social outings to help them stay connected to their local communities.

“The Australian Government is pleased to provide just over $1.1 million over four years to fund the operation of the centre - as well as $75,000 in one-off funding for furniture, equipment and culturally relevant resources,” she said.

“Caring for someone can be a very rewarding experience, but it can also be extremely demanding on the carer and their time.

“Day respite services offer carers an opportunity to attend to personal matters, to recover from an illness, or to just have a well-earned break,” Mrs Elliot said.

Mr Murphy said the So Wai Lifestyle Activity Centre will cater particularly for people of a South East Asian and Korean background.

“It will be a resource hub for carers and service providers, offering bilingual audio visual and culturally relevant information and advice.

“Alternative therapies such as aromatherapy, pet and music therapies will also be provided to assist with physical and emotional enhancement.

“I am very pleased that our local community will have this unique and culturally supportive resource available to them,” Mr Murphy said.

Federal Member for Grayndler Anthony Albanese also welcomed the respite centre – stressing the need for support of this nature.

“In the next 20 years, unless a cure or preventative measure is found, the number of people with dementia is expected to more than double as Australia’s population ages.


“This highlights the need for more specialised dementia respite services such as those provided by the So Wai Lifestyle Activity Centre,” Mr Albanese said.

“Congratulations to the Australian Nursing Home Foundation, which is the provider of this wonderful activity centre,” Mrs Elliot said.

Background
There are around 2.6 million unpaid carers in Australia who provide assistance to people with a disability or the aged, with more than half a million of them being the main, or primary, provider of care.

The term ‘dementia’ describes the symptoms of a large group of illnesses that lead to a gradual decline in people’s cognitive functioning.

It is estimated that more than 200,000 Australians are affected by dementia.

It is more prevalent in older Australians, with almost one in four people aged 85 years and over having the condition.

For more information, contact Mrs Elliot's office on (02) 6277 7280