Diversity Action Group discusses cultural safety & intimacy at Ananda

Embracing the new Aged Care Standards, Ananda staff met to discuss what we are doing well at Ananda and what we can do better in regards to supporting diversity.

Standard one of the new Aged Care Standards (Consumer dignity and choice) focuses strongly on cultural safety. At Ananda we have a very diverse resident population (at both sites) and also a very diverse work force.

Cultural safety means that each individual defines their culture and what is important to them. This crosses over all aspects of life including respect, dignity, spirituality, food and celebrations as well as sexuality.

Following our Rainbow Day activities at both homes to coincide with Mardi Gras we discussed how we could become more inclusive for residents and staff who are from the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex communities and who may feel unable to express their personhood or identity due to societal discrimination over the years.

As part of Ananda’s partnership with Dementia Training Australia (DTA) staff are encouraged to complete a 3 hour course ‘LGBTI and dementia’ which explores the history of legislation around gay relationships in Australia and uses personal stories to understand why residents would have been forced to live dual lives for fear of victimisation and imprisonment.

In May we launch Ananda Academy, our online staff portal where all staff can access high quality, relevant training and complete it on mobile phones, tablets or computers wherever they are. We are developing a course on intimacy and sexuality at Ananda.

All Ananda staff and especially clinical nursing staff are highly recommended to complete one or both of these course by March 2020 (the end of our year partnership with DTA).

 

Some discussion points in the Taj room at Hope Valley &the flyer for residents and staff

The Diversity Action Group, which is intended as an open engagement forum for residents, family and staff,  also discussed how we can do more for culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) residents, for example our many residents who come from various regions of Italy.

Staff at both sites have recently  attended training sessions run by speakers from Multicultural Aged Care (MAC) and Ananda utilises various resources including cue cards in different languages and the CULTURA app on devices. You may have noticed that Ananda’s website is now in five languages: English, Italian, Greek, Vietnamese and Hindi.

These are changing times in aged care and we are embracing the new Standards by engaging with residents and staff to ensure we are truly inclusive and do not discriminate.

We welcome any residents, family or staff who would like to join the group.

Ananda Management Team

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