Flinders recently partnered with consultancy firm Wells Advisory to develop an operational model for a proposed $34m Aged Care Centre for Growth and Translational Research that is set to radically boost the quality and depth of aged care research. This is the first step in achieving sector-wide improvements in workforce capability, models of care, care quality, as well as improvements in overall productivity, investment, commercialisation, and the uptake of new technologies.
The recent Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety exposed the urgency for a fundamental reform of our aged care system, and researchers at Flinders are striving towards the answers. A suite of research initiatives is already under way at Flinders and our researchers hold recognised expertise in aged care.
Some of them presented as expert witnesses at the Royal Commission, providing commentary and considerations relating to how we must deliver care.
One of those expert witnesses was palliative care expert Professor Jennifer Tieman, who alongside other experts highlighted the urgent need for palliative care to become core business for aged care.
Then there’s the work of the Flinders Caring Futures Institute and its 226 research members who have a relentless drive to redefine care and seek change for how we care for ourselves and others.