Welcome
The role of the Office of
the Public Advocate (OPA) is to promote
The Office of the Public
Advocate is located on Level 7,
New local
numbers for our office are: Phone 8342 8200 Fax 8342 8250
Toll Free number for country callers: 1800 066 969
News & Articles
Private Guardian Survey now
underway
January
2012
We would like to hear
from you if you are a private guardian - that is someone appointed as a
guardian (a substitute decision maker):
·
under an Enduring Power of Guardianship
(EPG), or
·
by the Guardianship Board
The Office of the
Public Advocate wants to understand the experience and concerns of private
guardians. If you are currently, or have ever been the guardian of an adult
person, we invite you to take part in this important study. Harrison Research is undertaking this
research on our behalf and has developed a survey which can be completed
on-line, or posted out to you.
You can access the
on-line survey here or, if you
would like the form posted out to you please ring Harrison Research on 8490
4200.
The research has
been approved by the SA Health Human Research Ethics Committee.
Please ring the
Office of the Public Advocate on 8342 8200, or Harrison Research on 8490 4200
if you have any questions about the research.
Advance Care Planning
January 2012
Advance care planning lets
people know what is important to you, even if you become too sick to speak for
yourself. HCSCC has developed a booklet about advance care planning to help
people:
·
think about what it means
·
talk to their family and the other
people most likely to be involved in making decisions for them if they become
very ill
·
talk with
their doctor about their wishes for future medical treatment.
To read this booklet Click
Here
Aged Care Update:
Advance Care Planning and Decision Making
December
2011
This
presentation was delivered to a seminar convened by Aged and Community Care Inc
on 7 December 2011. The theme was
Advance Care Planning and Your Legal Obligations as a Health Professional. This paper considers who can make which
decision - either with an advanced directive in place or without one.
Topics
considered include the role of residential aged care Directors of Nursing as
"relatives" under the Guardianship and Administration Act 1993 s59 (
commencing on page 6 of the presentation), and the legal authority required for
the detention of a person in a secure residential aged care unit (commencing on
page 10).
To read this presentation Click Here
Supported Decision Making
September
2011
The Supported Decision Making trial aims to assist people with a disability who need decision support to set up an agreement with people in their life, to provide this support, and to monitor the operation of the agreement. The model provides a “non-statutory supported decision making agreement”.
For updated information and recent papers Click Here
Preventing Abuse and Neglect of
Vulnerable Adults
August
2011
Work on the
Vulnerable Older Adults Project in the Office is reaching a conclusion.
For more
information about some ideas discussed in the project please read a
presentation on this topic delivered in June at World Elder Abuse Awareness
Day.
To read
"The Right to Safety and the SA Protection of Vulnerable Older Adults
Project" Click
Here.
Also in
June the Australian Disability Professionals Forum was held on the theme
"How do we keep people safe?"
The Public
Advocate was one of a number of presenters.
The following link is to a copy of power point slides presented on this
occasion. The presentation refers to the need to base responses on a
"Right to Safety" from Article 16 of the UN Convention on the Rights
of Persons with Disabilities. It lists a
range of strategies to better protect vulnerable adults.
To view
power point slides Click
Here
Updated Restrictive Practices
Policy
July 2011
The OPA
Interim Policy on Guardian Consent for the Use of Restrictive Practices in
Disability Settings has now been updated.
To read
more about our Restrictive Practices Policy Click
Here