Margaret May (McPherson, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Ageing) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to talk about an issue that none of us should ignore. A recent study by Deakin University has revealed that clinical depression remains undiagnosed in up to half of the aged-care residents in nursing homes. As anyone who has suffered from depression knows, it is more than just feeling let down or feeling sad; it is a serious condition that needs treatment. People suffering from depression generally find it hard to engage in day-to-day activities. Depression can have serious effects on physical and mental health. Depression in older people is common—and it is more common than we realise. It is normal to feel down or sad during physical illness or when we lose a loved one. Beyondblue’s research reveals that it is a commonly held view, even among older people, that it is normal for people to become depressed as they age. However, depression does not have to be a normal part of ageing,

Deakin University’s study Recognising and screening for depression among older people living in residential care, led by Professor Marita McCabe, consisted of a series of three studies that explored the prevalence of depression among a sample of 300 elderly low-level-care residents. Professor McCabe’s research found evidence of high rates of depression in nursing homes. Unfortunately, many older people think that depression reflects a weakness of character and not a health problem, so they do not talk about it. Depression is a common health problem in the broader community: one in five people experience depression at some stage in their lives. With the right treatment, most people do recover from depression.

Deakin University’s study found that less than half of the nursing home residents with depression who were participating in the study were receiving pharmacotherapy or any other form of intervention. This is despite a growing awareness in the literature of under-recognition and undertreatment of depression among older people. Deakin University’s study made a number of significant recommendations for further research, study and policy development. The recommendations include undertaking further research to better understand depression among people residing in low-level-care facilities, providing better training for general practitioners to detect and manage depression among low-level-care residents and providing better training for nursing staff to improve their ability to detect depression among low-level-care residents. I really hope that the Minister for Health and Ageing and the Minister for Ageing have taken note of these recommendations from the study and will take some action.

The bottom line is that many people are leading fairly miserable existences in nursing homes. I would say to the Minister for Health and Ageing and the Minister for Ageing that that is due entirely to the fact that the depression is going undiagnosed and untreated. We can do something about it. We all know that depression strikes people in our communities. We know of very high profile people who have admitted that they have suffered from depression—people in our own industry, if we can call politics an industry—and they have taken a lead in putting their own experiences on the public record and assisting those in our community who need some help with their depression.

I certainly commend Professor McCabe and Deakin University for undertaking the study and for using the study findings to develop and implement a pilot training program for staff at a number of Melbourne nursing homes to help them recognise the symptoms of depression and what can be done to assist people with it. It is important that we encourage these people to learn about it and to recognise the symptoms of depression, particularly in aged-care facilities. As I said earlier, growing old is probably not all we would like it to be; it does come with its challenges. But I think we can help make it a lot easier for people; we can help make it happier for them. Let us face it: we are all ageing every day of our lives, even those of us in this place. I commend everybody involved in the study and I hope its recommendations will be taken on board.

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