Law Talks Episode: Maintaining our independence as we age

Robyn: Good morning and welcome to another edition of law talks here on 4CRB and today we’re joined by Bindy Marshall an accredited aged care professional and aged care paralegal at Attwood Marshall Lawyers. Thanks for joining us, Bindy.

Bindy: Thanks for having me, Robyn.

Robyn: Well, today we’re going to be talking about maintaining independence as we age. Many people believe that if they admit they need support or help at home, it’s a sign of weakness or them losing their independence. It can be scary to come to the realisation that you may need extra help as you age. But having these conversations with loved ones or your power of attorney early can help them understand your wishes and help you maintain your independence for as long as possible.

So Bindy, let’s start with the basics. Let’s define independence.

Bindy: Look, the meaning of independent is freedom from outside control. So in order to maintain independence sometimes we need to put support in place to ensure self-sufficiency.

This may mean you engage the services of someone to maintain your lawns and gardens, or someone to come and do the heavy laundry and the vacuuming. The older person is remaining independent and making choices to ensure that they’re comfortable.

Robyn: Bindy, what are some things, or can you give us some examples of what an older person can do to maintain their independence?

Bindy: Have support at hand. It’s really important to recognise that sometimes we need a little bit of help and there’s no shame in registering with my aged care and organising an ACAT assessment for a home care package.

A home care package can help you maintain your freedom for very little cost to ensure that you can continue to live at home as long as possible. We have a number of wonderful providers here on the Gold Coast that can help you navigate your path.

You should choose a caregiver that matches your individual needs. Your caregiver should be someone who gives you flexibility and control over your services, supports your hobbies and interests based on consumer directed care.

The government want people to stay at home as long as possible, and this is why they’ve invested so much into the support at home programme that’s coming in on the 1st of July.

Robyn: Now Bindy, this is a big one. What about driving later in life, a lot of people are really terrified of having their licence taken from them.

Bindy: Absolutely. We hear this all the time and look, we know that having a driver’s licence later in life gives a sense of independence.

Many older people are still able to drive later in life by making some small changes, for example driving during daylight hours or avoiding driving in heavy rain or storms or peak hour traffic on busy roads or taking unfamiliar routes.

Often medications can affect our ability to operate a vehicle too, so it’s important to adhere to the medical advice as you might void your insurance should you choose to get behind the wheel and drive against medical advice.

Confidence is another factor that may come into play, because sometimes people choose to give up their licence and rely on community transport. This is still being independent as the person has made the choice to give up their licence.

Rules can obviously vary from state to state, so it’s important to ensure that you are complying with the rules in your state.

Robyn: Yeah. Now, what about the social aspect? Is staying connected to people and purpose important?

Bindy: We know that close social and family relationships are key factors in living longer and healthier lives.

Remaining connected to the community is important. Whether it’s going out for a cuppa at your favourite coffee shop or attending a class or event, there are lots of ways you can maintain social connections. This goes a long way to maintaining personal identity and mental health.

If you can no longer drive, there are other ways to organise transport. This could be through your home care package or a friend or a family member picking you up, or you might choose to catch public transport.

Robyn: Yeah, and Bindy, are there things that people can do to maintain their health?

Bindy: Yes, definitely. Health complaints are a normal part of ageing. Being proactive and taking action early about health issues is really important.

The worst thing you can do is ignore the problem and hope that it goes away. Home modifications and assistive devices can also assist to maintain stability, prevent falls from occurring, installing grab rails in the bathroom along staircases and improving lighting can enhance safety and accessibility.

It’s also really important to stay active. Aerobics oz style isn’t for everyone, but healthy exercise has so many benefits. They could include greater flexibility, prevention of falls, better bone density, keeping illness to a minimum through stronger immunity, and it obviously helps to reduce dementia.

It is essential for your medications and medical checkups to be maintained, and you should keep up with routine health screenings. Some home care providers will help you manage your medications with reminders on your phone and a vital alarm is really important for your safety.

So many older people take it off when they go to bed, and they don’t wear it. Carrying your personal alarm with you at all times can be the difference between you laying on the bathroom floor in pain for days before someone finds you or receiving emergency help within an hour.

Robyn: Yeah, that’s a great piece of advice. Now, finances make up a big part of our independence. What should people do here to help them feel they still have control over their affairs?

Bindy: Yes, good point. So setting up direct debits or automatic payments for utility bills and private health cover where possible to ensure you don’t miss these payments. This makes things so much easier in the long term and it reduces trips to the post office.

You may also find that meeting with the financial advisor who is specialised in retirement and aged care can also help you manage your financial commitments and plan for future care needs.

If you have access to a computer but would like to manage your bank accounts this way, there’s a lot of seniors who are frightened by this, but you can organise for a special senior’s computer tech to come to you and provide you with training on how to access your bank accounts or Centrelink via the services on your computer.

The local councils often have free or low-cost activities for seniors and discounted items as part of their rates, and this often helps seniors when budgeting for social activities or staying connected with the community.

Robyn: Now, Bindy you just mentioned computers there, can a computer or a mobile phone help someone as they age in place?

Bindy: They definitely can. Many older people don’t know how to access information and it can be challenging for some.

Often, it’s the fear of the unknown for the older person who’s never used a computer before, but it’s really quite easy and written directions can really help. Approaching these things with an open mind and going to a class at the local library can also help you to understand computers and how to access the information. It can go a long way to maintaining your independence.

It’s a really safe way to learn with people in your own age group and they will help you understand how the freedom of having a computer or a mobile phone can give you.

Robyn: Yeah, I think it’s the old saying isn’t it, it’s really easy once you know how to use it?

Bindy: True.

Robyn: Now maintaining good nutrition is vital as we age, what services are available that can assist people with meals to ensure they are either not skipping meals or lacking important nutrients?

Bindy: Yes, meal prep is so important. I’m the meal prep queen. Ensuring that you have a healthy, balanced meal helps our bodies. If you have a home care provider, meals can be provided as part of your plan. Some people find that they can manage to make their breakfast and lunch but find that dinner can be a bit more challenging.

Robyn: Especially if you’re cooking for one too.

Bindy: That’s right. You could pick up healthy, nutritious options from the local supermarket or have meals delivered by an independent company.

Robyn: Now, can a person still be independent if they have a diagnosis of dementia or Alzheimer’s?

Bindy: This is a really great question, Robyn. Firstly, it’s important to follow any medical advice given by a geriatrician or medical professional.

There are many facets of having a cognitive impairment and maintaining independence. It is dependent on a number of factors.

The first is behaviours. If you are refusing care in your home, you’re neglecting your hygiene and you’re wandering the neighbourhood at all hours, putting something on the stove and forgetting about it, ready to burn the house down, your health professional may recommend full-time residential care for your own safety.

The second is financial status. Can you afford to fund additional care over and above your home care package funding as you age in place and your care needs increase?

We currently have a gentleman we look after and he has carers in place from nine in the morning through till about seven at night, seven days a week. This gentleman has had a dementia diagnosis for the last five years and he’s lived independently with very little assistance till approximately 12 months ago.

His attorneys have now put things in place to allow him to remain at home and have carers who come in, they do his washing, cleaning, cooking, they take him to medical appointments. The gentleman, although he’s cognitively impaired, stays on his own at night with his vital alarm attached, which helps him to maintain his independence.

The attorneys have worked closely with the home care provider and medical professionals to ensure that the plan is consistently reviewed for the gentleman so he can stay at home. Care changes if the gentleman gets sick and requires additional care too. So that’s why having the right home care provider is so important.

Robyn: Yeah. Now lastly, Bindy, is there anything else people can do to maintain their independence and safeguard themselves as they get older?

Bindy: Absolutely, you should ensure that you’ve appointed an enduring power of attorney. This should be the person that you trust to carry out your wishes.

You don’t have to appoint a family member just because they’re related. This should be someone younger than you who understands your wishes and is happy to carry them out on your behalf.

You should have your enduring power of attorney drafted according to your wishes and instructions with a reputable lawyer to ensure that all information is captured.

Remember, this is a legally binding document, so doing it yourself can be dangerous if you don’t have a law degree. Let’s face it, you wouldn’t try and build your own home if you weren’t a licenced builder. You must also have an advanced healthcare directive put in place. This obviously ensures your wishes have been noted with your GP and your loved ones. This is the document that gives you the voice even when you can no longer act for yourself.

The other recommendation is to purchase a little book with a hard cover. In this book you should write down important information such as the older person’s full name, date of birth, CRN, which is the Centrelink reference number, my aged care ID number, bank details, that does not include pins, and obviously who they hold their utilities with, who their GP is, who their specialist is, accountant, details of solicitor, a copy of your enduring power of attorney and your advanced healthcare directive.

You need to put those things in the book and the reason I’m saying that is because should you be diagnosed with a cognitive illness or are palliative, the advanced healthcare directive doesn’t always cover the more personal details you would like if you do lose your independence.

It’s really important to write things down and provide as much clarity as possible to the person you trust to make the decisions for you if you’re not able to make those decisions for yourself.

This book should only be kept in a very safe, lockable place, if possible, filing cabinet, or give it to your power of attorney to know where it is.

Robyn: Well, thanks for joining us today, Bindy. Lots of little tips and tricks there for our listeners that I’m sure would have found very useful.

Bindy: Thank you so much, Robyn.

Robyn: You’ve been listening to law talks here on 4CRB, which you can hear every Friday morning from 9 o’clock.