My beautiful mum, who resides in an aged care facility is heartbreakingly bedridden, which requires full care, including eating and drinking. Mum is unable to hold a glass of water or even reach for water to insure she is hydrated, which greatly increases the chances of dehydration. The effect of heat this coming and future summer weather is an enormous concern. Moreover, dementia patients, like my mum, often do not even recognize when they are overheating and therefore suffer in silence when unable to express how they feel. To prevent this from happening I am advocating for a change. I imagine that this will be a big ask as the private facility leases the building and the council owns the building, so I am getting the run around. So I am asking for your help for not only local but nationwide.

Air-conditioning is not mandatory in Australia and I believe in this day and age all facilities should have mandatory air-conditioning. If you are not experiencing this issue now then you will or a loved one will in the future. 
Living in non-air-conditioned facilities can be lethal for residents during the hot summer months. Seniors are particularly vulnerable to heat-related illnesses due to medical conditions, heart issues, and age-related changes such as reduced sweat production and most importantly dehydration. By neglecting to install air conditioning, these facilities and council owned buildings put our loved ones at risk.

This is an example of a regional based council building that is beautiful but has 2 major flaws. There are non existent screen on the external courtyard doors, which are opened for airflow and of course more importantly non existent air conditioning. We live in a cool region but the previous summer was horrendous. Our people are not acclimated to extreme heat and therefore suffer terribly when a heatwave hits. 

The inescapable heat last summer was unbearable for the residents and I am concerned future summers are going to cause health problems with our vulnerable elderly residents. The external doors can't be opened due to snakes possibly entering the building (snakes have been seen in the gardens close to entrances) and the non screened external doors leading to the courtyards are opened, but blowflies etc enter the building, which poses as a health hazard. 

 The heat can effect the elderly in so many ways e.g, bed ridden residents, cannot undress or move to cool down or dementia suffering residents are sometimes unable to recognise they are overheating. Ambulant residents are able to do this but they do still suffer as they can't always go on outings to sit in air-conditioning.

Heat exhaustion can cause numerous conditions or exacerbate existing conditions, especially in our elderly and also dramatically increase hospital visits on our already exhausted public hospitals. It is someone's responsibility to provide a comfortable ambient temperature and this is where we can make a difference for our vulnerable loved ones.

Thus, it is vital that we require all aged care facilities to have mandatory air conditioning, promoting a safer, healthier environment for our elderly. We can lessen the detrimental effect on their health as a duty of care, provide a comfortable ambient temperature to lessen the effects of aging and health conditions.  Reduce or stop the amount of deaths caused from heatwaves.

Please sign this petition to push for a much-needed policy change. Let's ensure all residents of aged care facilities can thrive in a comfortable temperature-controlled environment and without a detrimental effect on their health.

 Staff will also greatly benefit from air conditioning on so many different levels. More productive staff ensures better care for your loved one.