Paralympics, netball, NDIS, physio, sepsis, dementia and more

00:39 S1

It's just gone 5:00. And with the Paralympics and Olympics over, you might put the French dictionary in the cupboard for a while and give your warm welcome to Leisure Link here on Vision Australia Radio, 1197AM in Adelaide, VA radio dot org on the internet, through the TuneIn radio app - look for Vision Australia, Radio Adelaide, your favourite podcast or streaming service via Radio Digital in Adelaide. Radio Digital in Darwin. And if you're listening through 103.9 Hope [?] in Western Australia. A big hello and welcome to you. Peter Greco saying great to be here. This program coming to you from Kaurna land.

Coming to you very shortly... we'll speak to Dr Jeff Dixon from La Trobe University, with some interesting observations regarding the Olympics and Paralympics. We'll also catch up with Tricia Crockford talking netball, we'll also have with your SA Minister Nat Cook talking about planning ahead week... Chelsea Marchetti, our resident physiotherapist, will join us. What can physiotherapy do for people who are older? We'll also catch up with Associate Professor Naomi Hammond talking about sepsis. So, very important topic. A lot of people don't know much about it. So we'll find out much more about that. 

We'll also catch up with Julian Schultz from Resthaven. Staying at home and regional areas is what Julian will be talking about, very important. Doctor Dinesh Palipana will join us. And Dinesh will talk about the event coming up on Wednesday, encouraging people with disabilities into employment, encouraging employers as well.

02:17 S2 (SONG)

Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo.

02:20 S1

Well, the Paralympics and Olympics are over. We put them away for another four years, so I'm sure we'll talk much more about it in coming weeks and months. In fact, we're going to talk a bit about it with a bit of a different angle. Going to speak to Dr Jeff Dixon from La Trobe University, who is involved with the sport and social impact. Jeff, great to meet you. Thanks for your time.

02:40 S3

You're welcome, Peter.

02:41 S1

Do you look at the Olympics and Paralympics through a different lens that our supporters might?

02:46 S3

Oh, it's a,that's a... really good question. The path that... one aspect that intrigued me this time, Peter, was the efforts by some of the Australian Olympic Paralympians to, I guess, shift the conversation that they were not just participating at the Paralympics if they were competing. And I think that that was a legitimate effort on their behalf to position themselves as elite athletes as distinct from... recreational athletes. And that's not something that I would ever make. It didn't, I've never thought about it in terms of the Olympics before, but the the Olympics is clearly an elite level event. And I welcome the Paralympic efforts to position themselves as elite athletes.

03:28 S1

I think some of the reasoning behind that might be because of the amount of training and their dedication to their sport. It's not just a, you know, a bit of a sort of Sunday afternoon jaunt, if you like. They are very, very serious about what they're doing.

03:41 S3

Yes, they are, yes they are. They... put in a lot of effort, they're representing their country at the world stage. And I hope that all of them had a... wonderful experience.

03:51 S1

Well, I think from what we've gathered, they certainly did. And they certainly have deserved it. Jeff, you, obviously with your work etc., look at the social impact and sort of the integrity. A couple of issues that did crop up during the games that I know you've commented on. Let's talk about Jared Clifford, who many of our listeners may have either heard of or actually heard on on our programs. An athlete with a vision impairment who is tethered to his guide runner to compete in this event. And they let go of the tether just before the finish line and were disqualified. You've got some thoughts about that?

04:23 S3

Yeah. Look, look, I'm comfortable describing it as an incredibly tough call. But I also am... empathetic to the... decision makers, the referees, the officials. And what tends to happen in sport from time to time is that we we have what I call "if-then statements". If this occurs then this is the consequence and context. Time of... said incident dismissed. They're not taken into consideration. And, in this particular event where we're, where we have athletes tethered to a guide, that seems to be a very simple if-then statement. If you lose contact with the guide, then you are disqualified and if that occurs halfway through a race, if you're separated by 100m, one metre, or with one metre to go, it doesn't matter. You are disqualified. And that's, I guess, the price you pay when you start to enter the realm of elite sport as distinct from participation sport.

05:22 S1

So some empathy and sympathy, but kind of "them's the rules".

05:26 S3

That's probably a very good summary, Peter, of my view of it.

05:31 S1

There was also an incident, I think, during the Olympic Games, was there not, with one of the rowers having a mobile phone in their boat that.

05:38 S3

That was Paralympic also. Oh yeah. Yeah, yeah. The nuance there was that the athlete was in possession, seemingly in possession of a communications device in his boat. And the rules forbid, and I'm not sure of the wording here, but the rules basically forbid the use of a communication device, and the nuance there is whether the presence of a communication device... amounts to use of a communication device. Because my understanding is the athlete was pretty, pretty keen to share his mobile device and say, hey, you can look, I wasn't, I didn't receive any messages. So therefore possession of it did not amount to a breach of the rules...

06:19 S1

Because I guess the reason for the rule, if you like, is that you're not getting sort of outside interference or outside help.

06:25 S3

Yeah, you can very easily see the... rationale for the for the rule. The question here is whether the athlete breached the rule, whether the athlete received an advantage if they breached the rule. Some people like to rely on that. And that's why I fall back on the if-then because the if-then statement doesn't allow any sort of conversation or debate about whether an advantage was acquired. The judges, the officials. I don't want to be making that assessment because that's an incredibly difficult assessment to make. So they simply rely on the "if X occurs then you will be disqualified". 

07:03 S1

And I guess f you start moving the goalposts, pardon the pun if you like, but if you start moving the goalposts, I mean, how much do you move them?

07:12 S3

And yes, you're onto it. Peter. That's exactly the argument. If you know, you talk about playing football or something like that in a game of Australian football, you know, you can push someone in the back and acquire an advantage, or you can push someone in the back and not acquire an advantage. The referee or the umpire just sits there and says, Well, you pushed him in the back. Therefore it is a penalty.

07:33 S1

It's fascinating, isn't it? 

07:36 S3

There was another another incident very late in the... games, the vision impaired athlete, female athlete from Spain, Elena Congost, was disqualified in similar circumstances to Jared Clifford. And the nuance here is that her guide was cramping in the final 100m and was at risk of losing his balance, and in an effort to ensure that he did not fall, they appear to have lost contact with each other and her bronze medal was removed. Now... that's even, I think a more devastating context, than what Jared Clifford experienced - insofar as, you know, there's an argument that she was sort of, acting with... I'll call it integrity, sportsmanship - just a duty of care, if you like - to her guide, who was at risk of falling, she was three minutes clear of fourth place. 

This incident occurred metres, metres from the finish line, and she was disqualified. That's... an incredibly tough call... and, I must admit, I didn't feel a lot of sympathy for... Jared's situation notwithstanding, you know, my, my black and white view of the world, but for its context. I thought that was an incredibly tough call.

08:53 S1

Because I guess the thing is, if the guard had fallen, she might as well have come down as well. Could have, will have come down.

08:59 S3

And it makes me wonder about what the rules are with, with tethered athletes. Because the athletes tend to run with the tether sort of in their hands. But given what's happening, I would be... strapping it to my wrist, in the future. But I'm not sure of the nuanced... policies about whether that is allowed, but it just it, you know, you know, Jared was incredibly unlucky. And so to Elena Congost.

09:24 S1

I guess the really harsh markers might say in a situation where Jared, well he is a young man, but, I mean, he is experienced. He's been to a couple of games. He kind of knows the ropes, pardon the pun, but, yeah.

09:34 S3

Yeah, that is, it's just it's just... unfortunate. Unlucky. But, yeah. As you so eloquently put it a few minutes ago, Them's the rules, Jeff.

09:44 S1

What about from a sort of broader sort of geopolitical situation, the Games. I mean, we saw the situation with the athletes from Russia. I mean, is this the kind of right way to be going? I guess we say sport and politics should mix, but they... shouldn't mix, I should say. But, you know, that's... in Disneyland, isn't it?

10:03 S3

It is sport and politics. You know, I'm well aware of the cliche Sport and politics shouldn't mix. And at a certain level and context, I would I would support that statement. But at the same time, you know, the Australian government has announced a $56 million increased, an additional $56 million investment in Paralympic sport. So, you know, at the risk of oversimplifying it, you can't have your cake and eat it, too. So if you want to, if you want to have a sport free of politics, then I think you actually have to say No to the government funding. And I don't think anyone within the Paralympic movement is keen for that to happen. 

10:37 S1

Well, any movement I think, Jeff. Jeff, what about the situation with the... athletes being paid for gold, silver and bronze? You comfortable with that?

10:47 S3

But for the most part, yes. they're essentially being paid well, plus rewarded.

10:52 S1

Is that a better term? Oh, they're being rewarded.

10:54 S3

But the reality is, most athletes who are winning are already being paid in some way, shape or form via endorsements, government support, prize money at their professional events. You know, the days of, you know, it's easy to pick on certain sports like, say tennis, basketball and golf and say, Oh, these are all millionaire athletes. They shouldn't be at the Olympics. But there's more than a few millionaire athletes in other events as well. And the Olympics, first and foremost, define themselves in terms of being elite. For a long time, they held on to the word "amateur". But... that's been gone now for for a few decades. 

Do I think that the Olympics and or the International Federations that... govern the sports, the Olympics? It's I think prize money is a nice to have. But I don't think it's essential. And I think it creates a problem insofar as that some of the international and national federations might be rewarding the most successful athletes, but that places pressure on the smaller international federations to do something, to do something similar, and they don't have the financial resources. And my other comment would be, sometimes those athletes that are winning are arguably those who need additional financial support the least. 

12:08 S1

Yeah, that is such a great point regarding, you know, lesser well-off countries, isn't it? Because in a sense, they kind of need it more, as you say.

12:16 S3

Well, there's nuances there in terms of who's providing... the rewards, whether it's the international federation... and I think - I stress, I stress the word think - that athletics might have gone down this pathway, which has created a rod for the back for other international federations. And then, of course, there's just the disparity in athlete support that... is given throughout the world. A wealthy first world nation like Australia tends to support its Olympic athletes or elite athletes very well, whereas, you know, realistically, there's 140 nations in the world that probably don't provide any sort of significant... funding for their athletes. So, you know, the Olympics is hardly a fair fight, but it's still, I still think arguably it's the best show in town.

13:03 S1

Jeff, you've put on a pretty good show yourself over the last ten minutes. I've really enjoyed our chat. Thank you so much for that.

13:08 S3

Have a great day, Peter.

13:09 S1

That's Dr Jeff Dixon. That was most, most engaging. I think we might put Jeff's name on our list of contacts to speak to in the future. Jeff is from La Trobe University, looking after sport and social impact. Well, a big weekend last weekend for our netballers - our Rubies South Australian netball team were at the Mary Little Shield. Let's catch up with our coach Tricia Crockford to find out how we went. Hello, Tricia.

13:35 S4

Good evening Peter. Thank you for having me back.

13:38 S1

It's always a pleasure to have you on any time now. How did we go? Might as well go straight to the hardest question of all. How did we go?

13:45 S4

We were so proud. We came home with a bronze medal, and the girls were, yeah, they thoroughly deserved it. I think there was probably a couple of matches that we could have won to perhaps play off for the gold medal, but I think we didn't do the job at the time. And so bronze is where we sat. And, you know, they looked back and know that there's some, you know, work to be done if we want to be bringing that gold home again. But, you know, that's what makes life a competition. And these girls are still striving to get there. So maybe in 2025 we'll bring home, you know, one above or even that gold.

14:20 S1

I will come to that in a second. What about from a team's point of view, many changes from previous [?] teams? 

14:27 S4

We did. We had changes, sort of even from the top. So, I stayed in as the head coach. We had a new assistant coach come in this year... in Marty. So she's from the Tango Netball Club. So we had two assistants and then with Paul and also our team manager, Sam. Then we had two new players come in, and they were exceptional. So one was quite timid when she started, but by the time we, you know, got her used to our training environment and also up at the tournament, you know, mingling with everybody, she played her heart out in the grand final, and or, you know, our bronze medal match. So she's one for our future. And, you know, I sort of said to her, you know, once a Ruby, forever a Ruby. So... she'll be back. So yeah. So it was really lovely to have some new faces in our Ruby's team. 

15:18 S1

Now I know we spoke about this sort of thing before, but it's a big deal, isn't it? I mean, maybe going away for the first time, away from home, getting on a plane, maybe for the first time. These are big things. And then you've got netball to play as well.

15:30 S4

Oh, totally. We, you know, we start preparing them right from when they start trialing. And there's so much information we need to gather from them to make sure that, you know, we're providing the most inclusive, safe, welcoming, you know, environment for them for when they do travel. So we need to make them aware that, you know, it is going to be a fun and enjoyable time that we will look after them. You know, they're leaving behind their families, although we did have an amazing support crew that either flew or drove up to support. The support was outstanding, and so there was that familiarity once they got to the courts. 

However, our accommodation, you know, they're in room. They're, you know, maybe 3 or 4 to a room. They might be on a different floor. They're not next to somebody. So they have that, we have obviously have that level of trust. But they also have to have that level of, I guess, confidence to be able to move around a hotel and know that there's going to be different people and, you know, different groups, different foods, different everything. So they did it so well. We are always so extremely proud. 

And I think again, the preparation that we lead them into and not just netball, we talk about them catching a plane and how to present themselves, you know, to make sure that, you know, clothing is fresh and all of those things because we are representing our state, we're representing ourselves. And we're also, you know, sharing spaces with public members. So the girls were amazing and we could not fault them in anything. Their manners were impeccable. They were loving the fact, I think that we were serving them dinner and, you know, preparing their lunches for them. And they took it on like the queens that they are. So yeah, actually serious. Really enjoyable.

17:24 S1

On a serious note, though, Tricia, I mean, that kind of being treated like elite athletes, I mean, that's what would happen to a Thunderbird or, you know, a player that might be playing for the diamonds to kind of be having lunch served at a, you know, go through the, the warm-up and the kind of attention to detail as far as warm-down and recovery and all that sort of stuff goes.

17:44 S4

Absolutely. And again, like over the years, you know, we have tried to build this program to match the level of that, you know, and we reiterate to these players that this is a state team and we want them performing at their best. So we do you know, as coaches we obviously implement, um, a very good warm up and warm down. We also introduce nutrition at the end of their game so that they're, you know, refueling straight after we this year we were really fortunate. I think my understanding is that we actually stayed in the same hotel that the Brisbane, that the Thunderbirds stay in when they're in Brisbane. And yeah. So and it had a beautiful rooftop pool. 

So we were able to take the girls after we'd done our recovery at the courts and stretch and warm down and ice and all of those things, we were able to take them to the pool. And then we're walking up and down in the water and, you know, stretching their legs and just helping their bodies recover from, you know, what can be quite intense physically, obviously, but also mentally. You know, we have to remember that these players do have an intellectual disability. So just for them to be finding the familiarity in their surroundings is a huge workload for them. So, let alone then we're asking them to go out and perform and, you know, not make a mistake on the court. So, which... mistakes happen, and we welcome that. And then that provides us with the opportunity to help them grow. 

So, yeah, it was much better this year. Well, you know, we've been sort of aiming for that next level. And I also want to say that we did have the Thunderbirds come out to our trainings again this year. And the two girls we had out, we had Taylor Williams and Shamera Sterling come out and they were just wonderful. The way they spoke with our players, the way they shared their stories about leaving families. The use of social media, dietary, all of those things that we, you know, talk about as athletes and moving into that elite athlete side. 

And we're also really fortunate to, that I was able to organise the AFLW Crows girls, a couple of those to come out and they again, you know, shared their stories. They spoke about challenges in if someone was getting under your skin. How do you do that? How do you cope with that? What are your mechanisms to play your own game and not get involved in those sort of niggles? And Chelsea Randall was absolutely amazing. And she said, you know, what I do to my player is I smile. 

So that was our mantra. Yeah, that was actually our mantra for the whole tournament. So when the girls were looking a bit intense, I said, girls, where's our smiles? Let's bring that smile. And um, it was superb. And it really is the best form of medicine. You know, you can just look at someone and smile and you know that it makes their day. And, um, saying back to you, you know, certainly the Murray Littlefield is full of smiles. It's the best environment ever.

20:48 S1

Now, we had a little bit of, well, we won a bronze medal. That's good news in itself. But we had a bit more good news from a team perspective or an individual's perspective from our team.

20:58 S4

Oh, we had the best news. And that is that our captain, Isabella, who has captained our side for quite a few years now, I think she's been working in this environment for about 12 years, and she'll probably correct me if that's wrong, and so Isabella, we are so, so proud. Netball community across South Australia and obviously at the Murray Field... she was crowned the MVP of the entire tournament. So no bigger accolades. There is one other award that is named at the tournament and that's the Naomi Perry Spirit Award. And that went to a beautiful lady from Northern Territory. So they're the only two awards that are given out at the Murray Shield. So for us to have that person and Isabella was just sublime.

You know, in every game she leads on the court by example. She's polite, she's respectful, you know, to the umpires, to her opposition. She leads the team. We leave her in the change rooms, sort of at the end of my chat, and we get her to do a bit of a gear up. And so sometimes I stuck my little camera around the side and was listening. And it's just the best to hear the players react to her in the way they do, is just, you know, speaks volumes about what she does for the sport and what she's done. So, the perfect accolade for her.

22:21 S1

Well, I know Isabella is a very, very dedicated netball person, so to get that kind of recognition is a wonderful thing and richly deserved. Trish, what about next year. Then I guess you got to look for next year. I know at the moment we've got the netball finals in the season six competition on. We had the semifinals on Thursday night, the prelim today and then the grand final next Saturday. But what about from a [?] point of view. All sort of focusing on next year now?

22:48 S4

Yeah I don't think we ever stop. We are always looking for that. You know that continual improvement and what can we do. We're sort of having our meetings coming up, you know, to work with netball SA. And you know they listen to us and we just work together, provide some feedback and let's see, you know, every year how can we strengthen this program for these girls. And, you know, whether that's by extending our program by a few more weeks or is it bringing in, you know, extra nutritionist or strength and conditioning coach, or is it having a physio accessible, all of those little things we, you know, get together.

And netball SA are so proud of this group as well and are extremely, you know, backing up for whatever we sort of... not want, but, you know, would like to try and implement. So, yeah. So always watch this space. We're always trying to get it better. And... I think that goes across without saying in all programs, you know, they're never perfect. And, you know, if you can just all put your brains together and see what you can do to help these girls achieve, well, why not? Let's just continue the process until, you know, positions get announced for next year. 

23:55 S1

Tricia, always great to catch up. You've got such a wonderful energy about you. It's always fantastic to speak to you. Congratulations on a bronze medal to the Rubies, and particularly to Isabella, Rosa, to Pam, to Paul, Marie and also Sam for their support. We'll keep in touch and well done.

24:12 S4

Thank you. Always a pleasure. Thank you Peter.

24:14 S1

That's Tricia Crockford there, coach of the Rubies, who came back from the Little OAM Shield with the bronze medal and award. So well done to Isabella for taking out the MVP. That's a tremendous achievement by a South Australian.

24:30 S5

On the Vision Australia network through your favorite podcast service. On 1197AM in Adelaide, you're listening to Leisure Link.

24:42 S1

Well, it's a really important week coming to the end of it, but the message is certainly very important. Let's chat about it with the Minister for Human Services, for Ageing Well and also for Seniors, Nat Cook. Nat, always great to catch up. Thanks for your time.

24:54 S6

Oh thanks, Peter. It's a good... thing to talk about.

24:57 S1

Yeah. Planning ahead week. Tell us a bit about it. What's the kind of message?

25:01 S6

Yeah. So I think this is just about people making decisions about their future. And when they can, so that they can have peace of mind and not worry about families having to make decisions in the absence of their own capability. So the Plan Ahead Week is a reminder to do all of those things, in readiness for potentially a time when you're... suddenly unwell or deteriorating or unable to make a decision or a combination of all of those things.

25:35 S1

So mainly that people say over 65.

25:37 S6

Well, no, actually, surprisingly, I think that's probably what I would have thought, a few years ago, before I started working in this world where people often come to us for advice. I think the message is, it's never too soon to start planning ahead for your future and making sure that you have got decisions and advance directives in place in case something should happen. And life is a wonderful thing. It's full of surprises, but sometimes those surprises aren't great. So if you can make sure you plan ahead. And in a minute I'll go through, sort of what I see as your six steps. 

But if you can plan ahead... I've asked many people of all different ages and they say this... gives peace of mind. It means it takes the worry out of the potential where something could happen and you can't make your own decisions. Nobody makes decisions better than yourself about you. And all of those things are really important, I think, in order to have peace of mind and take burden off families.

26:43 S1

And really important because, as a survey showed that a lot of people don't do this well.

26:49 S6

Absolutely. Surprisingly, a national study found that 70% of people aged over 65 have absolutely no advanced planning in place, which is really pretty worrying, to be quite honest. So I think there's some people that I hear things like people saying, Oh, I don't want to say, who wants to talk about that type of thing? Well, you know, death and taxes, let's be honest. So when, so Peter, just to run through very quickly. But I would... obviously in advance, I'd refer people to the wonderful world of Google. And they can type in Plan Ahead Week and a whole range of sites will come up that will help you with information. And I'll give you some more sources in a minute. 

But six steps: talk to friends, family, trusted people. It might be your GP, but it might be as easy as getting your family together and telling them about your wishes, and talking to them about how they can help, and to ensure that those wishes are granted and followed. Instructions are followed in the event that you're unable to make your own choices or decisions, then you can go about legally putting in place some more binding, advanced directives. So one of them is completing the Advanced Care directive, and that... helps with directions about future healthcare, end of life arrangements, living arrangements about your pets. 

A friend of mine also... tells me that her mother has got some information in there about haircuts and things like that. Some very simple instruction about what she wants done for her personal care in the future. Then there is enduring power of attorney. That is another important document. Someone in your life who can manage finances, legal matters and decisions, now... that's important. And sometimes it's not the closest member of the family, but it might well be. Then there is obviously the will. So a legal document that clarifies the administration of inheritance and guardianship issues. And then as well, we've talked about this before, is about the registration as an organ and tissue donor. So you could help people after you've gone. 

And the important sixth step is go back to that trusted circle after you've lodged all of those advanced directives, produce wills, enduring power of attorney, organ tissue donor instructions. Get copies of those and make sure your family and your trusted circle have all of that information communicated to them, and have that document, documents shared with your trusted circle. So, there's that. Those are the six steps, the conversation, the four legal documents and instructions, and then the conversations and the sharing of documents. So that's really important. 

You can get help from the Legal Services Commission for some of those. You can... go to some of the local libraries and council offices services and importantly as well in terms of some of these things and and especially if you need certified copies and to fill out advanced care directives, your members of Parliament are all very happy to help, and provide a listening ear. So really good, really important information.

30:14 S1

I like that term "trusted circle". That's really, really good. And kind of a double-edged sword, isn't it? That because it's good for you, because, you know, you can kind of be comfortable in the knowledge that you've organised these particular procedures, but also good for the family? Like, because there might have been well, I reckon mum might've wanted this and someone says, No, I reckon dad would have wanted that. So when it's all legally set out there's kind of no... need for any discussion.

30:37 S6

Absolutely. And like I said before, you know, and each person in your circle might have a different job. Yeah, I know when we talked with our parents, my brother was probably the one that was deemed more likely to be able to take a bit of emotion out of some of the decision-making and stick to the rules, whereas my sister and I are emotional beasts and we, you know, we probably would have messed things up. So we were glad that my brother was the person to do that more administrative role. So I think in, in spite of that, he was a, he's a communicator. So we all communicated anyway. But he was the one to do legal signing. So I think every family is different. And, but I think that, you know, you... don't just want to have one person involved. You do need to have that honest and open... conversation in advance.

31:26 S1

And in terms of getting that stuff done, it's probably easier now or more straightforward now than in the past in terms of the kind of legal implications.

31:33 S6

Completely, completely. There are some really excellent tools online and, um, packages. And we also invest in training and education sessions. And there are some um, sessions being held with local government, um jurisdictions to build up their skills and capacity to help people with these, you know, the meaning of these legal paperwork and sort of document filling out and providing advice, all of that. Um, we're investing in that as well. So it's more now than ever. But, um, I can assure you the members of Parliament as well are, um, very well equipped to provide assistance.

32:09 S1

Okay, that's a good tip. You talked about the very powerful but simple example about the person and their hairstyle or their A haircut. I mean, they're simple things, but as I say, they're really, really powerful. And if they're important to you, they're important. Full stop.

32:22 S6

Oh, absolutely. And they're, you know, I think, nobody, nobody wants to spend time... worrying about what might happen to their pet or pets as well. You know, you, your dog and your cat, you know, they might be, you know, the company that you have 24 over seven in your home. And it is a big worry, particularly for people who are unwell or older, What might happen to my pets when I'm gone? So having some kind of instruction and agreement with friends and family, or a trusted circle around that future planning for the cat and or dog or or whatever, I think that's pretty important too.

33:01 S1

This is a good week to remind people about it, but as I say, it's the message that's relevant all year round. Now before you go... Of course, in the last week or so, we've heard about the resignation of Bill Shorten from Parliament, and of course, as Minister of the NDIS. Is it kind of,... ou know, we plough on regardless. Now nothing changes as far as the things that are in place to to sort of streamline the situation and to bring in the states more with their services, etc.. 

33:27 S6

No. Nothing changes. Bill is still with us doing good work up until the end of... this term essentially. I think he's sort of mooted a date around February that he... is able to start a new role. But, Bill and the team have put in place a really good framework for change, and now it's up to all of us to work together to communicate the vision and the journey forward, and of course, work alongside... the excellent South Australian minister, Amanda Rishworth. And, we are the next step for us in terms of being able to help to develop that new ecosystem of foundational supports is now underway. 

So the consultation on that first part is now underway through the Department of Social Services. They are leading the consultation around the general foundational supports phase. So we'll start talking about that. There'll be no changes to people's circumstances or journey. You know, for some time we don't see foundational support starting until the middle of next year. So there'll be some. And then over the next five years, gradually increasing what we're offering in that... space that was essentially vacated with the evolution of the NDIS. 

So we'll have this three phased approach to inclusion and disability. And that is obviously, the NDIS for that significant and long term disability. And then we've got the foundational supports working to provide other um, supports for people with disability, and also some diversion away from having to have that long term support if we can get people early enough, and then also then we've got the big picture disability inclusion under the Australian Disability Strategy. Our Disability Inclusion Act and all of the other things that come together to make us think about how our community can be better and more accessible for everybody, not just people with disability. 

35:35 S1

So if you're worried, if you're a person that might be worried about falling through the cracks, can you give us some kind of level of comfort that you know that people like that will be looked after as well?

35:47 S6

Well, what I can do is repeat the words of our federal ministers who absolutely tell us that this is being designed to stop people fall through the cracks, because people are falling through the cracks now. 

36:00 S1

All right, now, I know you're really busy, so thank you for speaking to us. Now, we'll put some details up on our Facebook page regarding Plan Ahead Week. It's a really important message. You've crystallised it really well. We'll catch up in the near future, I'm sure to talk more about those changes and the foundational support, etc. as that gets rolled out. But thanks for speaking to us. 

36:17 S6

No worries, that's terrific. Have a good weekend everyone and may the roller coaster of football season continue.

36:25 S1

Oh crikey. I don't know if I can cope with this, but anyway, I'll do my best. Thanks for your time, Nat. See ya. That's Nat Cook there, the Minister for Human Services, Seniors and also Ageing Well. That really important message about planning ahead. Yeah, I touched on not just for people over 65, but for anyone of any age.

36:42 S6

Definitely. Definitely earlier the better.

36:49 S1

Let's catch up with our resident physiotherapist from the Flipper Academy, Chelsea Marchetti. Hello, Chelsea.

36:55 S7

Hello, Peter. How are you going?

36:57 S1

I'm going especially well. And last time we talked about your... launch of services for particularly young babies, which were at about six months and two years. We'll come back and ask you how that's gone so far. But what about at the other end of the age spectrum? I guess it depends on how old we are as to how old we think old is. But can you give us a bit of an idea of what a physio could do for older people?

37:21 S7

Absolutely. Our physios can do a lot for the, I will say over-65 population rather than, than old people. That's not, you know, don't want to offend anyone, but exactly 65 where you have a really big role in a number of areas. Primarily I would say it can go either community or in the hospital. So in the community it can be... stroke rehabilitation, it can be falls prevention, it can be general exercise, it can be osteoarthritis management, it can be hydrotherapy. And it could even be things just like trying to keep general cardiac health in check as well. So more the longer term chronic things in the community and then in the hospital. 

We do a lot of dealing with over 65 age group that have operations and trying to get them out of bed and moving post-operatively. So that's super important. And that can be post a hip replacement or a knee replacement, but it can also be post like an abdominal surgery or something like that, where sitting up and standing up can be really sore for your tummy. So our role is to teach you how to do those things and make it less painful for you, and also be able to get you back to what you were doing. Pre-operative, operative.

38:39 S1

I guess that kind of has changed a bit over the years just because I know like years and years ago, probably even before my time, like people weren't encouraged to do much, say after surgery. It was kind of Take it really easy, don't do too much. But these days you literally hear about people getting up and about, you know, literally hours after surgery.

38:57 S7

Absolutely. There is so much evidence now for early mobilisation and how crucial it is for recovery and how it can impact you long term. We want people to get up within, you know, hours, unless indicated otherwise by the surgeon. But primarily when we're talking about our orthopedic surgeries, hip replacements and knee replacements, there's so much evidence to say now that early mobilisation is so important. Getting some weight through those legs, trying to get your body up in a better position for your lungs. And also that early mobilisation helps prevent things like hospital-acquired pneumonia, which can be really prevalent in our over-65 age group. They have a lower immunity level.

39:36 S1

Wow, that is such a powerful point, isn't it? Because, you know, something like pneumonia. I mean, you know, I guess at any age. But, you know, if you're maybe not in the best of health, you maybe, can... really be a serious issue.

39:48 S7

Absolutely. And then it can lead to ongoing follow on issues. That can then lead to being in a long stay hospital admission or ICU. We really want to try and avoid those things. So things like early mobilisation, you're getting up, you're using your lungs. You're also getting away from the same space. So you're not at that risk of being, you know, in that hospital environment for too long either. So it is really, really important. And that's where all that evidence has come out. Now, to suggest that that early mobilisation phase post-operatively, or even post being sick in an ICU situation is really important for all populations, but especially our over-65 age group.

40:25 S1

You talked about the work in community areas. I guess part of that as well is kind of quality of life in that sense of independence. If you've had a fall or have you talked about full force prevention, what we do in future months. Chelsea, talk more specifically about different conditions or different scenarios, but it's that quality of life or that feeling of independence that can be really, really important with a lot of the community work that you do or that physios can do.

40:52 S7

Absolutely. We want to try and keep people being independent and being able to do as much as they can and building their own capacity to do as much as they can. So our role in the community is really around functional goals. Can I get up and make myself breakfast? Can I put my socks on? If you think about things like falls prevention, if you're putting your socks on in the morning, if you can't stand on one leg, you can't put your socks on so that can lead to a fall. Things like that really important. And so our goal is to target exercises and therapy towards functional, functional things that can make people more independent, even things like falls, prevention, safe ways to get up off the floor, or just ways that you can go about your house and your daily activities that can help prevent you from falling, and how we can build some of those other balance skills. 

Besides, you know, we rely on our vision, our vestibular system, which is like our inner ear and what we call our proprioception, which is like things in our joints that help us make, make us aware of where our hand is and where our body is in space. Those three things are all regarding our balance, and they all integrate to help us balance. So trying to make sure that we do exercises that integrate all three of those things is really important to transfer that over into our functional skills at home, and what we can do at home to prevent us from falling. And then we...

42:12 S1

We've heard so much about ramping and, you know, with the situation with hospitals, etc. it's the sort of thing that if people can, you know, be here encouraged or, help to stay out of hospital, then that helps the overall society as well. If people are at home and in good condition longer, then chances are that things like ramping and hospital stays are going to be... well, if not minimised, at least lessened. 

42:38 S7

Absolutely. And anything we can do to take pressure off the public health system is super important. So absolutely agree.

42:42 S1

So I guess when you're doing your physio training, sort of one size doesn't fit all. I mean, maybe there'd be a lot of similarities, but if you're recovering from a stroke, it might be different than if you're, say, recovering from a hip surgery in terms of the training that goes into it. 

42:58 S7

Definitely. I think there's also different goals and different things that you're targeting when you're looking at a stroke patient versus a post-op orthopedic patient. So a stroke patient, there's more neurological involvement because there's been a areas of the brain have been affected. So the treatment for that and the rehab for that would be a different in a different format. So looking at things that have been maybe impacted or areas of the body that have been impacted, and then also looking at that neurological side so you can work in more of a multi D team in terms of speech and OT for those sorts of things and some capacity. Again, it just depends on the severity of the stroke and where it was as to where that treatment goes. So it's definitely not one size fits all. 

And similarly with a hip replacement, you could have someone that's had a hip replacement, but they also have other problems. Or you could have someone that's just had a hip replacement. So the treatment and early mobilisation and all those things, post-operatively, can be completely different with a patient that's had the same two patients that have had the same operation, but under completely different circumstances. So we're never really in a set recipe. It's always changing what we're doing, dependent on the patient. That's where our skills have developed and what we've learned through our university studies.

44:10 S1

That's a great point, isn't it? Because if someone has got other conditions, you know, maybe they've got, say, high blood pressure or low blood pressure for that matter. So how you treat them might be a little bit different than, than someone with maybe diabetes and that sort of thing. So I guess it's that nuanced approach to the treatment that... comes into play.

44:28 S7

Yeah, absolutely. Spot on, Peter.

44:29 S1

All right. Well that's very interesting. I said in coming months we'll get to more specific about some of the treatments that or treatments or the pathways, if you like, to getting to better health after different conditions. If people have got something they'd like you to tackle, please get in touch and we'll ask you to do that. In the meantime, we spoke last time about the launch of your... Little Trackers sessions. How's that all going? How's it coming along? And I guess with the weather just improving a little bit, we kind of can feel a bit of spring in the air, if that made any difference, do you think?

45:02 S7

Yeah, I think more people are seeing that summer's coming. So wanting to get their bulbs in general. You know, kids of all ages into their swimming stuff and trying to keep them water safe. As summer comes around, we go to more friends houses that have pools on the beach and things. So it's definitely becomes more of something that we think about in the coming into the warmer months. Absolutely.

45:23 S1

And you did launch your new... service, if you like, for particularly youngsters between about six months and two years. So that's kind of a bit of a specialty. And you've seen a bit of a niche in the market for something like this.

45:34 S7

Yeah. So we're constantly trying to see where the demands are within our scope and within our concept of what we've built at Flipper. And yeah, we're trying to kind of see where we're going with our little bubs. We've had a few little bubs that come and see us for little... things that they need, like walkers and kids that have respiratory issues, as I've touched on before. So we are trying to really build that service where we can and take on... expressions of interest where we can as well. So definitely that alongside what we're currently doing, where we're kind of heading at Flipper at the moment, which is really great.

46:08 S1

And it's very much tailor-made to the individual, isn't it? So if you're if you're a child, you might think, Oh, you know, it's they've got maybe a little bit different needs to, maybe a sibling that might have been of a similar age or the child next door. This is where your kind of strength is.

46:23 S7

Absolutely, absolutely. And that's across our program as a whole. Yes. That's true. It's always unique. It's always different. We're always tailoring things to children that, you know, are dependent on their learning capacity. Depending on their physical capacity. We never do anything that's the same. We never have a set programme that kids have to follow. We're always kind of tailoring it to their unique needs, which I think makes us a really big point of difference.

46:47 S1

Does that make kind of work or more fun, but also a little bit more, you know, using brain power? 

46:51 S7

Yeah. There's a bit of brain power, but it is really fun and allows you to be really creative. Yeah, enjoy. And I think when you've been doing it for such a long time, you kind of have a repertoire of things that you can build on, and depending on the child, you can tailor it to the way you think they'd be able to get the most out of it.

47:08 S1

All right. If we want to find out more, how can we do that? And whereabouts are you? Whereabouts are your sessions? 

47:11 S7

So we have sessions across Adelaide CBD, kind of all over the shop. So, we're taking sessions at the Arc at Campbelltown. We take sessions at the Women's and Children's Hospital. We are at um, Corporate Health Group at Mile End. We are at Brighton at Minda. We are also at the Marion Swim Centre. Crikey. Starting there in October and Clovercrest State Swim, will be starting a few more sessions there in October as well. So we are trying to expand as far as we can in Adelaide to try and get everyone into our service, which I think is super important.

47:45 S1

You've got the city surrounded.

47:47 S7

Yeah, we've taken over.

47:50 S1

flipperacademy.com

47:51 S7

Oh, that's the one. That's terrific.

47:54 S1

Chelsea, great to catch up. We'll let you jump back into the water and we'll catch up again next month.

47:58 S7

No worries. Thank you Peter. See you next month.

48:00 S1

Chelsea Kennedy, our resident physiotherapist. Flipper Academy dot com. So particularly if you have a child between, say, six months and two years that you think, I think a little bit of individual attention would help here... Chelsea would certainly be very keen to hear from you.

48:15 S8

Okay. Google play vision Australia, radio Adelaide.

48:19 S9

Sure. Here's Vision Australia, Radio Adelaide on. Tune in.

48:23 S8

Listen to Vision Australia Radio Adelaide via tune in on your favourite internet device.

48:29 S1

It was World Sepsis Day during the week. I must admit I didn't know there was such a thing, but I do now and I'm very pleased about it. And rather interesting studies showing that maybe a number of people aren't quite sure of what to be looking for. Let's find out a bit more about it and speak to Associate Professor Naomi Hammond from the George Institute. Naomi, great to meet you. And thank you for your time. 

48:50 S10

Oh, pleasure. Thanks for having me on.

48:51 S1

Now, I could be a little bit cheeky and say Friday the 13th and World Sepsis Day. Was it meant to be? 

48:57 S10

I think it was. And it wasn't it? Well, is a scary day for a lot of people. Because sepsis is actually a life-threatening condition which actually can claim the lives of, it does claim the lives of close to 9000 Australians every year. So it is a bit of a scary stat there.

49:12 S1

So it is. Well, what is it then? Can you kind of summarise it for, in a few sentences for us mere mortals? 

49:19 S10

Yes, I'll do my best. So what sepsis is, it's when the body's natural response to infection actually injures its own tissues and organs. So it's essentially that your immune system is overreacting to the infection. And that inflammatory process that happens gets out of control, which is actually what leads to sepsis. And it's so dangerous because what happens is that this... process can actually rapidly escalate and cause shock, failure of your vital organs, and potentially it can lead to death.

49:50 S1

Is there a trigger, or can there be a trigger or can it... it can't just happen, can it?

49:54 S10

So it can't just happen. It needs to happen. It happens when you have an infection. So what people need to be aware of is that it's... the infection is actually the trigger to sepsis. So it can be any type of infection. But what you're looking for is particular signs and symptoms that might indicate whether your body is overreacting and you potentially are leading to this sepsis episode.

50:20 S1

When you say infection, any type of any type of infection, potentially...

50:25 S10

Yes. So any type. So it can be caused by the common cold like influenza, gastro, Covid. It's typically, what we see is, mostly it's bacterial infections. But it is important for your listeners to understand that it can be triggered by any infection.

50:42 S1

So if you cut your finger or cut your toe or get a scratch and it gets infected, does that kind of put you at some risk?

50:48 S10

Yes. Unfortunately, it can be from any, any area of the body. So it's not just say a respiratory infection. It could be from a cut or... I guess this is Vision Australia, right. So yeah, it could be... infections from the eyes. Even so, it's just it's any infection from any location.

51:10 S1

It's time effect on in terms of getting sort of treatment or getting it looked at.

51:15 S10

Absolutely. So time is really important. And that's why we really want to get that message out. A bit like heart attacks and strokes where sepsis is reversible. So if detected and treated quickly, you can save lives. And we know that for every hour that passes without getting appropriate treatment, such as antibiotics, that your chance of death increases by 8%. So we really want people to get help as soon as they can think that there's something wrong.

51:43 S1

So you get a cold or you get a cut and things perhaps don't heal as quickly as they should. How does it kind of matter manifest itself? How do you kind of know that, well, this isn't going the way it should.

51:53 S10

Yeah. So what you're really looking out for is that you've had an infection, and then the kind of symptoms that you might have are fever or chills and, you know, like rigors, which is when you're really shaking uncontrollably. So that is quite a serious kind of symptom that you're looking for, perhaps rapid breathing or high heart rate. You might have a rash even. Other serious symptoms might might be drowsiness and confusion or disorientation and looking for if you passed urine or not or so symptoms. And I'm not sure if you have many listeners with children. I'm sure you do. But for parents, they really should be looking for, uh, like looking at their child and saying, are they more sick than usual? They've had an infection. They don't seem right. 

Trust their gut instinct. Look for, if they've had wet nappies or not, those higher mode temperatures and potentially rashes and if they're hard to wake or floppy. These are really serious symptoms. So please reach out to... Health Direct or go to your GP or go to your emergency department if you're really concerned.

53:01 S1

You want to explain more the urine symptom or the urine sort of... sign there?

53:04 S10

So with sepsis, so what happens is your body is overreacting to an infection and you're getting this inflammation. And what happens is your organs start to potentially get impacted. And so urine is is an early indicator of... concern. So your body's kind of shutting down and and not making urine. You're getting quite dehydrated potentially. And so that's an early symptom that you can look for. 

53:36 S1

Naomi, is that a risk factor, the older we get the more prone perhaps...

53:40 S10

The older we get, there is... more, you're more susceptible to sepsis, but it is of any age, so the elderly and the young are more susceptible. But we want everyone to be on the lookout and be aware that sepsis is a possibility. 

53:55 S1

If we're in pretty good health or very good health - rude health, as some people talk about - is that going to help us, or can very fit young, healthy people still be impacted if things just, you know, sometimes things just sometimes go wrong?

54:10 S10

Yes. So anyone can get sepsis. No-one is immune. Whether you're fit and healthy, you're still susceptible.

54:17 S1

Wow. It's pretty sobering, isn't it?

54:20 S10

Yeah, it pretty much is. So what we're trying to do is raise awareness about this condition that not many people know about in Australia. And what we want for people to do is just to ask their health professionals, Could it be sepsis? So if we as the community or, you know, ask this question, then also our health professionals are being are considering this in their diagnoses of people. And I think this is important where we want everyone to be thinking about sepsis.

54:51 S1

I know you're an Associate Professor, so I wasn't sure you're not going to have a go at your fellow medical profession, but would GPs, would the average or when I say the average, the conventional GP, be on the lookout for something like this?

55:04 S10

We think that they are. But what the hurdle is for GPs is, is that there's many people coming through the doors that have an infection that is not serious, right. So it's really what we want our health professionals to think about. And our patients is, that a lot of the times, the stories are that that people tell us who have had sepsis, say that they went to their health professional multiple times. So that's an indicator. If you've been back and forth to your GP with a series of infections, when you're continually still not getting well, you really want both of you to be asking, is this sepsis?

55:43 S1

Yeah. No, I can totally understand that. What about in terms of definitively saying yay or nay? Is there a blood test? How do you kind of determine that?

55:51 S10

You can't just do a single blood test. So what the way to determine that is really going to your health professional and having having a series of both physical examinations and some blood tests which might indicate your inflammatory markers... and look for if you've got a particular bacteria or viral infection getting appropriate antibiotics for those if you can if it's... bacterial.

56:18 S1

Well, let's kind of end on a happy note, because it's been a little bit scary or sobering, I should say, but certainly very good to raise awareness. What about in terms of... treatments available and how effective they are?

56:29 S10

Yeah, the treatments are available, as I mentioned. So really getting early antibiotics is the key for the infection that you have. And, if you are unfortunately admitted to a hospital, then there's other... interventions that you can get particularly, intravenous fluids, etc. but really the antibiotics are the key. And... working with your health professional to get the right treatment.

56:53 S1

Is there like, one antibiotic that kind of rules them all as far as sepsis goes? Or...

56:57 S10

No, it's related. We want to have appropriate antimicrobial stewardship. So really what we want to do is pair the appropriate antibiotic to the... different infections that people have.

57:10 S1

You talked about organs shutting down. I'm thinking obviously, you know, perhaps a liver or kidney, that sort of thing. Is that the kind of, organs that shut down first? Is there kind of a progress that happens along those lines?

57:22 S10

Look, it is different for everyone... it depends how severe the sepsis episode is. But we do see our kidneys impacted first and also, with the heart. So you might have low blood pressure or high heart rate. And really you're going into what's called a shock state there. The liver is not usually... an organ that would... fail early on.

57:51 S1

They've got a website where people can find out more. And I guess that's the reason why we're talking to you, that a number of people, a high percentage of people, weren't aware of some of the signs and symptoms to look out for, and hence the awareness day and us chatting to you today. 

58:02 S10

That's right. So only 23% are aware of sepsis symptoms. Around 60% know of sepsis. So we're really trying to raise awareness on this World Sepsis Day, which was last week. And also September is Sepsis Awareness Month. So if you want to find out more please go to Sepsis Australia website on WWW dot Australian Sepsis Network dot net dot AU.

58:27 S1

All right. We'll put that information up on our Facebook page. And as always, people can call us at the radio station if they need more information or haven't got that information, but we will put that up on Facebook. Naomi, good to talk to you. Thanks so much for raising it. It's a serious topic, but the more we know about this sort of thing, hopefully the better prepared we can be in the event of it happening to us or indeed someone we love.

58:47 S10

Absolutely. And thanks so much, Peter, for bringing me on and wanting to raise awareness for this important condition.

58:52 S1

That's Associate Professor Naomi Hammond there from the George Institute talking about World Sepsis Day, which was Friday the 13th, but a message that is relevant all year round.

59:08 S11

Come on in. We open our doors to people we trust and care about. And for over 85 years, South Australians have been opening their doors to Resthaven. In turn, we've been opening doors to an easier, better life at home from personal care to help with the shopping and social outings, you'll welcome the care that Resthaven brings.

59:30 S1

Always great to catch up with our friends from Resthaven - recently awarded the High Commendation for their work in the aging sector, and particularly their association with getting their message out there through organisations like Vision Australia Radio. Let's chat to the project officer for staying at home in regional South Australia, Gillian Schultze. Good to catch up again, Gill.

59:51 S11

Nice to talk to you too, Peter.

59:53 S1

Now, this is a very important topic. And I guess often, maybe too often people in regional areas get overlooked. Not not by you, but just generally for us city slickers.

1:00:02 S11

Well... it's a big, broad space out there, in the regions... so, you know, things aren't so close, to... everywhere else, the same as they are in metro Adelaide. So, yeah, it's harder to get services out there sometimes. But we do take the staying at home program out to the regions as far as we can. So we have been to places like Barrie, Hindmarsh Island. So the Fleurieu Peninsula, Cockatoo Valley... in the Barossa... and we also do some retreats in the Adelaide Hills. So I've just we've just completed a retreat, Stirling, where we had some, we welcomed guests from Murray Bridge. So they came from Murray Bridge to Stirling for three days and two nights. 

And we've had a really wonderful, wonderful time encouraging people to use new strategies and learn... some new ways on how to engage with their partners who are living with dementia. So the program itself welcomes people living with dementia and their family carer. Or it could be a friend or a neighbour to come on retreat for two days and three nights.

1:01:28 S1

Is there much difference between your services? Say that you deliver in the country area compared to those in the metropolitan area?

1:01:34 S11

No. Not really. No, no. Other than the the distance that we travel, the service that we have, for this service... is the same, we, it's... a program that we run. So it's got a structure to it where we have carer education and engagement sessions for people living with dementia, have, meaningful engagement activities, which is a little bit like a taste of respite or community respite. So it gives them a taste of what's out there as far as services are concerned. So that encourages people to stay socially connected and to join some of those groups that they may not have thought they wanted to in the past. So it's a really good way, in a non-confrontational way, to see what respite is like or what a social group might be like so that people can engage and connect with others.

1:02:35 S1

We often hear about country communities, regional communities being close knit. Kind of. Everyone knows everyone. I guess that's good from the point of view of you might have made some connections, you know, in your life up until now. I guess it's continuing those or finding exploring other options that you can continue that social interaction. 

1:02:53 S11

That's right. So, this week we did have... two couples from Murray Bridge, and then we also had a couple from the metro area. The very interesting thing around that was that all of them knew somebody who knew somebody.

1:03:13 S1

That's good and bad, depending on what you know.

1:03:16 S11

Well, no, it was lovely. It was lovely for them to be able to make those connections and to reminisce about things. Reminiscence is vital for people living with dementia, and it enables them to have those really in-depth conversations without needing to worry about what they had for breakfast this morning or, you know, thinking about those recent memories. So looking back at the past is vital. We even had one of the staff members recognised, one of the gentlemen who had been a postal officer, and she had used to go to his post office. Okay, so the connections run deep. And, you know, we are in Adelaide, so we everyone knows everybody.

1:04:00 S1

Yeah, that's fantastic isn't it. And you... kind of touched on obviously the person with dementia it's important for them. But you talked about spouses or family members. They've got to be given some thought and consideration in situations like this as well.

1:04:13 S11

That's right. So we run care sessions... where we... are very open conversations around, you know, things that they can do and different ways that they can interact and so on. With this time we received some some great feedback from the carers and one gentleman said he's learned a better way forward so that he knows how to respond. He knows about the slowing down and making sure that he doesn't give his wife too many instructions at one time. He knows that he needs to just take the time and be still. 

There are other people. A lady said that she realised she needs to be calmer, and we gave them some strategies to do that, to enable them to be calm. You know, some basic meditation techniques or some, you know, techniques where she might just go and do something that's good for her so that she is able to support her husband along the way. Because we all know that you can't... help somebody else unless you're well, yourself and you're able to do that - even, you know, as far as your well-being is concerned. There were other things that they learned that the different things might work on different days.

So not all of the strategies that we might talk about will work all of the time, but they might work one day and they might not work the next, but then they might work at another time as well. So being able to have a toolbox per se of strategies to use when you're dealing with somebody who's maybe getting frustrated because their memory is, you know, failing them and that they might need some time to do things.

1:06:04 S1

Yeah. Because I guess, you know, we're all so we're all but we can't be impatient, can't we? And I guess just to kind of be reminded of the fact that, you know, to slow down, you know, take a breath or just be a little bit more patient because probably the outcomes of that behaviour is going to be better as well.

1:06:22 S14

That's right. We are We're so much better if something takes a little bit longer to do or takes a little bit longer, it doesn't really matter. That was one of the other things that the carers said, that they felt like the retreat itself had been a circuit breaker. It was an, it enabled them to stop and think. They've now got those tools to move forward and to carry forward and some of those things we could even see them putting those strategies into place. 

Like, so for instance, yesterday afternoon or this morning, they were putting those strategies into place already as they were thinking about, you know, leaving today. They knew that it was needed to be a slow getting ready, packing the car, enabling the person to, you know, feel safe and secure in their environment. And so nobody was rushed. It was a really good way to slow down.

1:07:20 S1

There must be very rewarding for someone like yourself. It's kind of conducted these retreats to kind of see your work in action and people benefiting from it.

1:07:28 S11

Oh, absolutely. It's, the retreats are, it's not only the once-off for the retreat. We do look at some measurements of scale, such as the burden of care for the carer. So we look at How much burden is it for them to have to care for somebody with dementia? So we we do an assessment and we have a base level. Six weeks after the retreat, we'll do that assessment again and then again at six months after, just so that we can see how well the person has taken on the... education sessions, how well they have been able to adapt to a new way of thinking or a different way of thinking so that we are seeing some really excellent results for the person, the carer and we also look at the quality of life for the person living with dementia. 

And when we put the two together, we can see that, you know, things aren't aren't too bad and people have worked out that it's just great just to sit back and let things slowly happen. Still live a really good life, but not to worry, not sweat that small stuff.

1:08:46 S1

It's good to have that evidence based support of what you're doing, isn't it? 

1:08:50 S11

Yes, yeah it may. It... puts a little bit more meaning to what it is that we do, so that we've got that evidence behind us. And of course, this is a government funded program, so it is free to the participants... and the government needs to know, you know, is it working is what we're doing and, and how we are... supporting people and carers for people living with dementia and their carers in the community and particularly in those regional areas?

1:09:20 S1

What's really important about the government paying for something like this? Because we all know about the cost of living. And if you think that sounds like something that would appeal to me, but I can't afford it, if at least it can be affordable to you, then all of a sudden you're going to be involved and reap the benefits.

1:09:36 S11

Yes, we like we like to take some of that... issue out of it and people come along. They're a little bit nervous, not really sure about how it's going to work. They often will arrive on a Tuesday morning. And we have staff who have never met each other either. And, you know, from the different areas. And then the... guests arrive. So it's a little bit nervous. People are nervous. I'm not sure you know what's going to happen by the time we get to tea time on that first evening. And we may as well have been, you know, family from, you know, of many generations. And the conversations flow... and people are really excited to be able to have those long chats and conversations or play a game like you would if you were on a holiday with family.

Or we do use some virtual reality. We have a virtual reality kit, and people really love to to go searching around the world, with the virtual reality kit. And we went up... the Eiffel Tower, in Paris, one night. Fantastic. And also, you know, places like looking at the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, and watching people actively engage in that is... amazing. They... the memories that they can bring back, the reminiscence, the discussions about when they went there in person, you know, what they saw and who they were with and so on - are really very good ways to reminisce.

1:11:15 S1

Gillian, how can people find out more? If people want to get in touch.

1:11:18 S11

So yeah, they can get in contact. They can either go to the Rest Haven website and look at the staying at home program, or they can call me on [08] 8198 2088 or, you know, send an email out to the Staying at Home program.

1:11:39 S1

Put those details up on our Facebook page. Gill, congratulations. That sounds like a wonderful few days spent together. Most worthwhile. And thank you for giving us just a little insight into what it was about.

1:11:49 S11

Thank you so much, Peter. Look forward to talking to you again.

1:11:52 S1

You betcha. That's Gillian Schultze. We've spoken to Gillian a few times. Never speak to you enough. Gillian is the project manager for the Staying at Home in Regional South Australia program.

1:12:05 S12

Hi, I'm David Mitchell, health commentator, and you're listening to Leisure Link with Peter Greco on Vision Australia Radio network. His wit, wisdom, knowledge and compassion make your show real.

1:12:16 S1

Oh well, a fascinating, exciting event coming up later on this week. In fact, on Wednesday, let's chat about it with one of the panelists, Doctor Dinesh Palipana OAM. Dinesh, great to catch up again. 

1:12:31 S13

Thanks so much for having me. It's always good to catch up now.

1:12:33 S1

This is a good event this coming Wednesday. Tell us a bit about it and your involvement with it.

1:12:38 S13

Look, I've been supporting... the group that's putting on the event for some time. And it's really about dispelling myths around disability employment. I find that at least in my journey, some of the biggest challenges have been attitudes in increasing inclusion in employment. So the... event titled You Can Ask That, it's about creating the hard conversations, asking the hard questions, and having a group of panelists that can dispel some of those myths, most importantly.

1:13:13 S1

So employers obviously welcome.

1:13:15 S13

Absolutely. And you know what? Anyone's welcome because, well, it takes... our whole community, I think. So, employers in particular. But anyone who wants to be a part of this conversation.

1:13:29 S1

Now, we often hear about particularly in, yes, in recent months, but particularly sort of after we kind of got back to normal after the pandemic, that businesses were looking for people, it was hard to find staff. So maybe this is a good opportunity to think about employing a person with a disability or another person with a disability.

1:13:48 S13

Absolutely. And you know what I think, apart from it, employment, being a human right, apart from employment, being good for the person because we benefit from good employment, we get this data that shows you're happier, you have a longer life, you're healthier. So good employment is really important for a person. But I think for the community as well, it improves how many people pay tax. Let's just get something in code and break it down to that. It increases the happiness and innovation of an organisation. So there are so many benefits, and there's data that shows people with disability are less likely to be absent from the workplace. So it benefits everyone. So I think we we got to take every chance to reflect in our workplaces. The 1 in 6 Australians that have a disability...

1:14:41 S1

People paying more taxes. I just heard the government prick their ears up at that, Dinesh.

1:14:45 S13

Yeah, exactly.

1:14:47 S1

But I mean, you're quite right because often, you know, or occasionally people talk about, oh, you know, it's hard to find good staff or, you know, it's hard to find reliable staff. As you said, there's lots of evidence to show that people with disabilities are more punctual, are more reliable. They're very loyal. Once they get that opportunity, they really make the most of it.

1:15:05 S13

Exactly. You know, I fought so hard, and me and the people around me as well, a lot of people supported me through this journey to get through the education, to get the employment opportunity. So it's something really valuable for me and I cherish it. So I want to do the best and do justice by the people who gave me the opportunity. And I think for a lot of people with disability, it's... good work is something that we really value and cherish.

1:15:34 S1

Doctor, lawyer, advocate. And that's just some of your skills there. So you're certainly, if you like, living proof of what people can do. Tell us a bit about Wednesday then. How will it kind of work? 

1:15:44 S13

So it will be online. It will be, there'll be a few panelists and, it'll go from 12 to 1 p.m. via Zoom. And there's a link online to book a seat, and then, we'll all, all of the panelists will be engaged. Hopefully it'll create a bit of an environment where everyone can feel safe to ask questions and have a conversation.

1:16:08 S1

Yes, I noticed that Matthew Levy, who we've spoken to a number of times on this program, a wonderful Paralympic swimmer, will be one of the panelists. 

1:16:17 S13

Yeah, he's a good man. So, Matt's done so many things. He's... an amazing athlete and an amazing advocate and has done so much and achieved a lot. We've also got... Kerri McQuillan from the Randstad group. And... we got an incredible group of panelists who, who are passionate about this area.

1:16:40 S1

Actually talked about, well, I joked about, you know, people paying tax. But, you know, when the NDIS was first mooted, one of the aims was to get more people with disabilities in work. And if they were in work, they were going to be paying taxes and therefore the cost of the NDIS wouldn't be quite as large. In fact, it might even be positive as far as cash flow went. I guess that's the sort of thing that, you know, governments and corporates can be looking at. I mean, you know, corporates are out there to make a buck. That's their bottom line. They've got to think about. And if it's going to help their bottom line, then doing something like this should be something that would, you know, make them prick their ears up.

1:17:17 S13

Oh, exactly. I mean, look, I think we know as a country that this is the right thing to do. But we have to talk to all members of society in all parts of society. And I think the economic argument is important. This makes economic sense where we're investing in the NDIS. And one of the things that was said about the NDIS is that if we do it right now, for every dollar that we invest, we could get $2 out. So if we're to do that, a part of that story is about employment. So it makes economic sense to do this.

1:17:51 S1

How are things going with you? You're a very busy person. Got lots on your plate. You've achieved a lot already in your very short period of time on this earth. How are things going? What are you focusing your attention on these days?

1:18:02 S13

Well, you know, it's a it's a timely question because... in a couple of weeks, it will be the 40th year on this planet. So a bit of a milestone. But you know, I love life. I don't feel like I work a day in my life. I love working in the emergency department. We're doing some research in spinal cord injury at the moment, which is really exciting. But all these conversations around hopefully making the world more inclusive and better place, because I think coming as a kid from Sri Lanka, where we lived through a war to living in a place like Australia, I just feel a responsibility to leave this country somewhat better than it found me. I think we're just making a good thing better.

1:18:48 S1

We... when I say we, I guess most of us kind of live down all our lives here... we probably need to be reminded of things. I mean, yes, of course, things can always be better. And people with disabilities in Australia, things can always be better. And indeed, there are a lot of people that are falling through the cracks and perhaps haven't got the life that they'd like. But by the same token, there is a lot for us to be grateful for. Well, there's a lot for people like you to remind us that there's a lot to be grateful for.

1:19:13 S13

No, thank you. And I think that's the important thing to remember, you know, because for me, I'm reminded that... we have something really good and we have something precious. And, I think we just have a responsibility to build on that and to make this better. And we are a beacon for the rest of the world already. But we have to be vigilant to carry that torch.

1:19:37 S1

Just talked about the spinal cord injury research that's going on. I'm lucky enough to be able to do this program, and I speak to a number of people involved with research, and it is so exciting. And Australia do a wonderful job kind of leading the way in the area of medical research, don't we?

1:19:52 S13

We are. Again, we're lucky, right? We're an economic powerhouse that can afford to invest in medical research. But we've done so many incredible things. And one of the biggest inspirations of my life was Professor Graham Clark, who gave us a lecture when I was a first year medical student, and that was about inventing the bionic ear. And because of his courage and determination so many people can hear today. So, spinal cord injury research is like that. We're at the frontier. And hopefully over the next five, ten years or thereabouts, we'll see some real changes for people experiencing paralysis from it.

1:20:32 S1

Are people from the centre for Research Australia on quite regularly on the program, and they obviously work in the area of eye conditions and genetic research and... retinal conditions, etc. and again, they're coming along in leaps and bounds. I mean, okay, might not be tomorrow that this breakthrough happens, but, you know, literally these things don't happen overnight.

1:20:51 S13

No it doesn't. And it's about a marathon. It's about a journey. And it's about... setting up future generations for a different life, I guess. And we enjoy the life today. You and I are talking... from many miles apart. Virtually. And that's, yeah... because I think people had the vision of making that a reality for us today. So hopefully our vision today will make a difference for the people of the future today.

1:21:21 S1

Have you got the details close by as far as how people could register? We can certainly put them up on Facebook, but it's probably a bit of a long URL to to go to. So maybe the best thing is people go to our Facebook page and get the link from there.

1:21:34 S13

I think that's probably the best way. Yeah, the URL is a little bit long, so head over to your Facebook page and I'd love to love to chat on the day. 

1:21:44 S1

Dinesh, look forward to it. I might try to get there myself. I think it'll be great. And people like you and... Matt, Olivia are fantastic role models and have been wonderful guests on our program in the past, and we look forward to speaking to you again in the future. Thanks for getting involved. And as I said, I know you're a busy person, so thanks for giving us a few minutes this afternoon.

1:22:01 S13

Hey, thanks so much for having me. It's always good to chat. And thanks for... the work you do.

1:22:05 S1

That's Dr Dinesh Palipana OAM, finalist in the Australian of the Year. And also Doctors for Disability set that up. So a very busy person has achieved a lot. I go to Dinesh to give us a little bit of time to chat about that day. You Can Ask That coming up this Wednesday, all those details up on our Facebook page. 

Fantastic to have caught up with Associate Professor Naomi Hammond talking about sepsis. Now there is a little tongue twister that they've got out, which they'd like people to try. So here we go. I am sepsis susceptible. I'm susceptible to sepsis. They've got to do that three times and record it and put it on social media. I won't do that, but I've almost got away at once. So, Naomi, you're a lovely person. I might quit while I'm ahead or not get further behind anyway. But a very big thanks to Naomi for chatting to us and look out for more about that, of course. Friday the 13th was the day, but I'm sure your social media channels will have a lot more about that. 

I do have some rather sad news to report. In fact, some very sad news to report the passing of wonderful cricketer and mentor Brian Foster. So Brian passed away earlier this week. So were to Brian's family and friends are very. Deepest sympathies. A tremendous cricketer and an even better person. So rest in peace, Brian Foster. 

Now Clubcall happening tomorrow at the guv. About 10:30 in the morning. Doors open till about 2:30, 3:00 in the afternoon. If you want more details. 0408 848 649 give Andrew Kyprianou a call. That's for a club. Cool happening at the guv tomorrow. Always a great day. 

A couple of quotes before we go. Here's one that carrier sent in from Robin Sharma. Robin Sharma says Start strong is good, finishing strong is epic. So that's from Carrie. So thanks, Carrie, for sending yours through. This one from Eric, who sends one through, says, Be penny wise, don't be pound foolish. Think that might be out of the UK. So big thanks to you Eric.

Some birthdays before we go jet off. Schweiger having a birthday, gold medallist from the Paralympic Games just a few short days ago. Happy birthday Jen. Congratulations to you and Nikki on your gold medal and hopefully we can catch up soon. Tamsin Colley, another one of our Paralympics having a birthday. Louise Savage, the greatest of them all. Having a birthday as well. Happy birthday to you. Andrew Francis, who was taking part in the triathlon at Paris as well. So happy birthday to you. And ooh. And Chelsea Marchetti, our resident physiotherapist, also having a birthday. So. Chelsea, a very big happy birthday to you. 

Thanks for all your wonderful contributions to this program. Sam, Richard, thanks so much for your contributions. Peregrine, thanks so much for yours. Reminding you that Leisure Link is available on your favorite podcast platform. Vicki Cousins is here. The Olympics are over. The Paralympic survivor, Vicki, is empty handed, but she does present Australian Geographic. That's worth hanging around for. Reminding you be kind to yourselves. Be thoughtful of others. All being well, let's look back at the same time next week. This is Vision Australia Radio.