March 2020 Dementia Australia National Symposium to explore making dementia care quality care

Registrations are now open for the ‘Dementia Australia National Symposium 2020 – Dementia care is quality care’, to be held in Sydney on 24 March 2020. 

Dementia Australia CEO Maree McCabe said the National Symposium is the next stage of the Dementia Australia Quality Care Initiative focused on raising the quality of dementia care.

“The ‘Dementia Australia National Symposium – Dementia care is quality care’ will bring together international and national speakers to present on key issues that will help raise the quality of care as defined by consumers.

“We will hear from a range of providers on how they are delivering quality care for people living with dementia now, within the existing environment of the aged care system,” Ms McCabe said.

This event will be the third stage of Dementia Australia’s Quality Care Initiative. The first was the National Consumer Summit resulting in the communique, ‘Our Solution: Quality care for people living with dementia’. This communique was presented by Dementia Advocates to Senator the Hon Richard Colbeck, Minister for Aged Care and Senior Australians in July 2019 and distributed throughout government and the aged care industry networks.

Dementia Advocate Ann Pietsch, attended the National Consumer Summit and said it was so important for her, living with dementia to be a part of the Summit.

“I would really like to see the voices of people living with dementia heard and adopted so that when I need to move into aged care I can be confident the dementia specific standards in care and the services available are appropriate for us,” Mrs Pietsch said.

The second is a National Stakeholder Roundtable to take place in Melbourne in November which will develop a clear action plan to consistently raise the quality of dementia care across the industry.

The symposium will feature presentations by Janet Anderson, Aged Care Quality and Safety Commissioner, Prof Dawn Brooker, Director of the University of Worcester Association for Dementia Studies UK; Dr Lisa Trigg, Assistant Director, Research, Data and Intelligence, Social Care Wales, UK; James Adonis, author and leadership educator, and the day will close with Ita Buttrose AC OBE, Ambassador Dementia Australia and Chair of the ABC, sharing on her own leadership and culture change experience.

Journalist, broadcaster and comedian, Julie McCrossin AM will act as Master of Ceremonies. The Dementia Australia National Symposium will be held at The Fullerton, Sydney on 24 March 2020. To register, please visit dementia2020.org.au.