Letters to the editor - September 21

I don’t think these examples reflect the passion and professionalism of the majority of staff and facilities in our industry, however it emphasises that everyone working in aged care needs to be accountable for their performance and commit to continuous improvement.

At Cobdenhealth we believe that every person who needs our care should expect the highest standards of service, safety and personal care, delivered with empathy and professionalism. 

Aged Care is a massive, growing sector with currently 1.3 million people receiving care services from around 430,000 staff and volunteers around Australia. It would be unrealistic to expect there would be no failures of care in such a big system, so the critical thing is how we respond.

The current Prime Minister’s announcement of a Royal Commission into aged care will hopefully play a role in improving the aged care system – it will look at industry performance and the effectiveness of regulatory oversight. 

We welcome ongoing reforms that make our industry better. We hope for realistic funding changes to support facilities like Cobdenhealth to provide quality care.

I encourage and welcome community member involvement at Cobdenhealth. It is one sure way to keep an eye on our standards. Get involved. Please contact me directly if you have any concerns or would like to talk.

Leonie Rooney, CEO Cobdenhealth

We would like to say a big thank you to South-West Victorian residents for their incredible support of Foodbank this winter through the Woolworths winter fundraising appeal.

With demand for food relief outstripping supply, you have significantly helped warm-up winter for some of the most vulnerable people in the community.

16 years and 16 million kilograms of food donated -  that is the equivalent to over 30 million meals donated to Foodbank by Woolworths since our partnership began in 2002.

And this winter, thanks to Woolworths customers, that number is growing even larger, providing much needed help to some of the 3.2 million Australians who require food relief assistance each year.

By generously adding so many $2 Foodbank tokens to shopping trolleys, South-West Victorian residents helped us reach our national goal of providing 762,948 meals to Australian families in need.

With each $2 token enabling Foodbank to provide four warming meals, Victoria contributed 114,340 meals.

With 40% of food insecure households families having dependent children, the funds raised during the winter appeal have helped struggling families make ends meet.

Thank you once again for your generosity at a time of year when families most desperately need assistance. Woolworths’ aim of supporting the growing need for hunger relief and helping feed millions of Australians in need would not have been possible without your support.

  Woolworths Group Manager, Luke Maguire