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There are big changes coming to the aged care industry as our first contingent of baby boomers enters the 65 years and older category. Baby boomers are those born between 1946 and 1965 so our oldest baby boomer today is 69 years old.  Australian’s born in this era look back and reminisce about the good ol’ days.   Post-war Australia was a land of opportunity and plenty.  Quarter acre blocks, big families, beehive hairdos, rainbow people and a teenage culture transformed in the heady days of the 1960’s.

Hence, baby boomers are a very different client to most that are currently residing in aged care. Their previous generation came through the war and great depression.  Sacrifice and in many cases loss of loved ones in tragic circumstances was a part of their lives.  As a result many of these clients are stoic and more likely to put up with illness and suffer in silence rather than ask for help. To date their demands and expectations of services have been relatively modest.

Their offspring are a different matter altogether.  There are about 4.5 million baby boomers now moving into the space currently occupied by around 2.5 million people in the preceding generation.  So not only are we about to see an explosion of population into the over 65 year bracket but with it, a much higher expectation of service delivery.

The entry of large corporates like Stockland now building Aged Care retirement villages signals we have reached a demand point that makes their investment worthwhile.  How well they design and staff these facilities to meet the needs of the baby boomers is yet to be seen, but it is encouraging that there is a national conversation starting on how we cater for the very different expectations of our future ageing population.

Recent conversations with Personal care workers in Aged Care facilities hosting All Care Training students provided some interesting insights.  They commented; “The baby boomers are a lot different. They don’t want to get out of bed in the morning, want wine with their meals, expect their rooms to be equipped with the latest technology gadgets and want high speed internet in their rooms.”

Australia faces some real challenges to meet the needs of our new era of ageing Australians both in design and delivery of care.  Training carers to be prepared and responsive to these needs is a critical component of getting it right.  For more information on quality training options contact All Care Training on 0405161987.