A group of WA aged care industry leaders have signed a memorandum of understanding with Yokai to improve culturally appropriate services for Aboriginal elders.
A group of WA aged care industry leaders have signed a memorandum of understanding with Yokai to improve culturally appropriate services for Aboriginal elders.
Juniper, MercyCare, Bethanie and Hall and Prior each signed the MoU with the Aboriginal community-controlled organisation and Stolen Generations advocacy group.
The partnership seeks to improve the provision of services for elders through a collaboration with Yokai, committing to create culturally safe spaces where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander elders feel respected, understood and supported.
Juniper chief executive Russell Brickell said all four of the aged care providers sought to offer cultural safety through their services, to both employees and the older people they support.
“We stand united in our dedication with MercyCare, Bethanie [and] Hall and Prior,” he said.
Bethanie chief executive Roulé Jones said the partnership reflected the provider's commitment to personalised care.
"Placing our customers at the centre of all we do by fostering meaningful relationships with Aboriginal Elders, represents our dedication to learning, understanding and sharing through reconciliation," Ms Jones said.
"We look forward to taking our people and our customers on this journey together.”
The word Yokai is a Noongar call to action meaning ‘enough is enough’, and the organisation is an initiative of the Bringing Them Home Committee WA and the WA Stolen Generations Aboriginal Corporation.
“It's encouraging to see aged care organisations committing to understanding that caring for older Aboriginal people, especially Stolen Generations survivors, should focus not only on their clinical needs but also on their cultural needs, such as their connection to country and lived experience,” Yokai chief executive Jim Morrison said.
Aboriginal co-chair of Bringing Them Home WA and Stolen Generations survivor Tony Hansen said the MoU was a significant step in the journey toward reconciliation.
“I am pleased that Aged Care Service Providers have committed to working with Yokai to ensure that our elders can receive appropriate care,” he said.
“As a younger Stolen Generations Survivor, I look forward to working with them to fulfil these commitments.”
The 2021 Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety highlighted a lack of culturally safe care options for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
It made a suite of recommendations, including partnerships to support the development of inclusive aged care offerings.
