Gladys Liu (Chisholm, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Earlier this month I had the privilege of visiting Waverley Valley Aged Care where I met with many happy residents. Since 2000 Waverley Valley has cared for senior Australians in a comfortable and safe environment. It is a family-run aged-care home. The founder and proprietor, Mr Noel Thompson, has run the home as a place where he himself or his relatives would want to stay.

Chisholm is one of the most multicultural electorates in Australia, and this is true of Waverley Valley, with residents coming from all over the world to call Australia home. On the day of my visit, many residents were in the common room having fun watching the Melbourne Cup and enjoying afternoon tea. I also had the opportunity to visit residents in their private rooms. The residents I spoke with told me that they felt well catered for by hardworking and caring staff, and it was also obvious to me that emphasis has been placed on the cleanliness of the facility.

The ratio of staff to residents is about one to three. This enables residents to receive care tailored to their unique needs. I was particularly impressed by their dementia-specific care. There are three levels of dementia care areas designed to help residents with dementia to transition into the later stages of life. There are more than 400,000 Australians living with dementia, and it is the single-greatest cause of disability in Australians over the age of 65. Sadly, it is also the leading cause of death among Australian females. It is estimated that more than 50 per cent of residents in Australian residential aged-care facilities have dementia. The emphasis that facilities like Waverley Valley are putting on providing a higher standard of care to these residents is encouraging. I was also impressed by the dedication of the many volunteers.

Again, I thank Noel and his staff for the opportunity to visit and see firsthand the important work that they are doing to provide residents with a lovely place to call home. Thank you.