"Dementia not a barrier to freedom after a successful family conference"

We had a great outcome from a family conference last week: my parent is now permitted to take short walks from their aged care home.

My parent has dementia and my siblings and I accept the risk that they could get confused or lost while going for a walk. However, for their happiness and independence, we agreed that it is worth the risk.

Southern Plus East Fremantle worked with us to find a way to balance this risk with their duty of care. It would have been easier for them to play safe and just say no but we worked at it and developed a risk plan. We actually developed, documented and signed the plan during the family conference and it was approved within a few days resulting in genuinely tailored care.

Since arriving several months ago, my parent took their first independent walk to a local café last week and everyone is very happy. I'm sure times will change but for now, my parent's biggest objection to living in aged care is lifted and the future looks good.