Listening Tour Diary
Growing older, growing smarter? ACT Listening Tour – 5 February 2008
We met some wonderful members of the National Seniors Association who shared their experiences of ageing in 2008, both as people from the ‘baby boomer’ generation and those in their 70s and 80s.
We heard about the subtle discrimination that can go on against older people in job interviews. For example, an employer making an assumption that a person with significant experience won’t be happy with a less senior role when in fact the person may prefer such a position.
Do these experiences sound familiar to you?
I was reminded that whilst it is very important to work on the big issues, like having access to an adequate standard of living in retirement, and a safe place to live, it is also the seemingly little things that can make a real difference to people’s lives.
Having to take your shoes off when you go through airport security can be frustrating for anyone. But, when you have limited mobility already as an older person, you may need to be able to sit and do this.
So, why aren’t there chairs available so that people can sit down if they need to?
And why are shopping centres being built that have so few places to sit down, and no way to get to the other end without walking the long malls?
These are some of the questions put to me. What do you think?
Liz
Maria Said,
February 11, 2008 @ 11:23 pm
I would like to see improved house/unit design. I work as an occupational therapist , in a hospital and assisting my pateints to return home can be difficult because eg they live in blocks of units / house with too many stairs, pokey small bathrooms, shower over bath , [a shower stool cannot be used , and bathboards do not always fit securely -narrow corridors , just a few examples. Improved design maintains people of all ages and disabilty at home for longer…
Also some nursing homes/ hostels are built with a nice appearance in mind rather than function- people require good care more than anything else, so providing adequate numbers of staff and paying them at a decent level will help to solve some of the staffing problems.
Eventually I had to resign from my nursing home , as have many good RNS. The pay difference and work loads too much of a difference, when compared to hospital experience. So much more I could comment. I will write more later
Thanks Maria
Marita Said,
February 24, 2008 @ 12:28 pm
Seats are important. Even more important are toilets.
Lack of toilets at wayside stops and on walking trails cause problems for all ages, but particularly the very young and the very old. It also results in unhealthy litter and degraded environment, when people who can’t wait just “go behind a bush.”