Prominent Australians including Prof Graeme Samuel AC, Ita Buttrose AC OBE, Denis Walter, The Veronicas and Abbie Chatfield have banded together with more than 200 dementia advocates to write to the Prime Minister ahead of next month's Federal Budget.
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The letter calls on the Government to fund the Roadmap for Quality Dementia Care developed by Dementia Australia with partners Dementia Training Australia and Dementia Support Australia.
The letter is written on behalf of the half a million Australians living with dementia and the 1.6 million people involved in their care and describes the Government's response to the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety's final recommendations as a "once in a generation opportunity to commit to the funding and policy settings we need to deliver quality dementia care" and "an opportunity we cannot afford to miss".
Professor Graeme Samuel AC, chair of Dementia Australia, said that after 20 years of reviews and reports, now is the time for the Government to fund quality dementia care.
"We have written to the Prime Minster as a matter of urgency to ensure this once in a generation opportunity to transform dementia care and the aged care system overall is seized by the Government," Prof Samuel said.
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"We expect a significant investment and transformation in the May budget that will make a profound difference to the experience of people affected by dementia - now and for generations to come. These reforms are well overdue."
The group calls for the urgent commitment to and implementation of Dementia Australia's Roadmap for Quality Dementia Care which has been presented to the Federal Government as a solution to the comprehensive reforms recommended by the Royal Commission.
The Roadmap highlights the three key areas of transformation that, if adopted, will make a substantial difference to the delivery of quality dementia care for people impacted by dementia and ensure quality dementia care for all people living with dementia, their families and carers.
These areas are:
- Improving dementia support pathways
- Building workforce capacity
- Dementia-friendly design.
Dementia Australia is the source of trusted information, education and services for the estimated half a million Australians living with dementia, and the almost 1.6 million people involved in their care. We advocate for positive change and support vital research. We are here to support people impacted by dementia, and to enable them to live as well as possible. No matter how you are impacted by dementia or who you are, we are here for you.
For support, please contact the National Dementia Helpline on 1800 100 500. An interpreter service is available and the Helpline is open 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday excluding public holidays. The National Dementia Helpline is funded by the Australian Government. People looking for information can also visit dementia.org.au
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