Ethical leaders in the retirement living sector have an opportunity to change the way Australians view ageing, says Rev Tim Costello AO ahead of the National Retirement Living Summit.
Our culture influences our attitude to ageing “more than we’d like to admit,” says World Vision Australia’s chief advocate.
Costello points to recent research from the World Health Organisation, which found negative or ageist attitudes towards older people are widespread.
Sixty per cent of the 83,000 survey respondents across 57 countries reported that older people were not respected. The lowest levels of respect were found in high income countries, WHO reports.
“Older people are seen as less competent and able, a burden on society and their families, rather than recognised for their wisdom and knowledge,” Costello explains.
Older people who feel they are a burden perceive their lives to be less valuable, which places them at greater risk of depression and social isolation. WHO research shows that older people who hold negative views about their own ageing do not recover as well from disability and live on average 7.5 years less than people with positive attitudes.
Costello says Australia’s “user pays” attitude also influences Australians’ attitudes to ageing.
“Older Australians may have been paying their way, but more than 2.5 million people in Australia receive at least the part pension, and this embeds the idea that they are not paying their way.
“Hospital costs in old age mount, and 90 per cent of what you spend on hospital and medication are in the last four years of your life. This economic burden shapes attitudes.”
As the population of over 65s doubles by 2057, ethical leaders must challenge and change these attitudes, Costello argues.
“One in seven people today are over 67 – that’s 15 per cent of all Australians. If you are thinking these people are a burden and don’t have much to contribute, it shapes attitudes and sometimes even policies.
“If you see people as a problem, you’ll often find solutions that are uncaring. Ethical leadership finds these people a valuable resource, not a problem.”
Costello says this issue is a personal one; his own father lived until 97, first in a retirement village, and then in a hospice.
“We need ethical leadership to challenge the notion that older people are a burden”.
The upcoming Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety is an opportunity for the retirement living sector to reframe its purpose, Costello says.
While the Royal Commission is primarily focused on aged care, rather than retirement living, Costello says it will “give us a coherent picture of what we need to do – of what our practices have been and where they are failing”.
Costello’s call to action is for the industry’s leaders to “go deeper”. Ethical leaders need a “very clear value system that rebalances why they are in this sector”.
“Of course, you still need to make a profit. But if profit is becoming the main focus and main value, you shouldn’t be in the sector.”
Rev Tim Costello AO is headlining the National Retirement Living Summit in Canberra from 28-30 November. A limited number of tickets are still available.