Victorian trust donates $400K to free telehealth support service for aged care residents

The Helen Macpherson Smith Trust, a philanthropic trust to benefit Victorian charitable institutions, has awarded $396,000 to Swinburne University's Wellbeing Clinic for Older Adults. The money will provide a free telehealth counselling and support service to aged care residents, family members of residents, and aged care staff in five Victorian regions. The funding will allow the service, which began in February, to take on more than 20 counsellors a year over the next three years to meet the needs of the aged care community for mental health services in Victoria.

“Access to government-funded psychological services for aged care residents in remote areas is difficult, and there are very few mental health providers who are equipped to work within this sector in these areas,” said Swinburne University’s Wellbeing Clinic for Older Adults’ Director Professor Sunil Bhar (pictured). “There are approximately 246 residential aged care facilities in regional and rural Victoria, accommodating 18,158 residents. Of these residents, more than 50% live with significant levels of depression, anxiety and loneliness; yet their access to face-to-face mental health services in such regions is poor.”