Coronavirus, Social Impact on Elderly

The Hon. T.J. STEPHENS (14:42): My question is for the Minister for Health and Wellbeing. Can the minister update the council on efforts to reduce the impact of social isolation on older South Australians in the context of the pandemic?

The Hon. S.G. WADE (Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (14:43): I thank the honourable member for his question. For many in our community the COVID-19 pandemic has meant that 2020 has been a time of retreating from the world, of cutting back, even cutting off interactions with family, friends and the broader community. While many of us are learning to live more of our lives online, not everyone is ready and able to transition to the latest app or to log in to a zoom meeting or to create an online community.

This is particularly true for some older Australians who are digitally challenged, finding themselves more likely to be alone and often feeling ignored or unheard. The Marshall Liberal government has always recognised that this pandemic presents challenges beyond the immediate physical impacts of the virus, and we have been working hard to mitigate those broader difficulties. One response, to which I want to pay tribute for its innovative approach, is called Postcards from Behind the COVID Curtain, a project initiated by COTA SA with the support of SA Health's Office for Ageing Well.

Thousands of reply-paid postcards were sent to older South Australians with an invitation to them to express their thoughts and feelings on the card and return them to COTA. Each person was also provided with a second card, which they were encouraged to send to someone they had lost touch with, send to someone they were aware needed cheering up or to drop in a letterbox as a way to make contact with someone in the neighbourhood.

Over the last few months many cards have been returned to COTA. Some have been messages of hope and determination. One postcard from Kay reads:

During the COVID my family thought I needed some company—got me an RSPCA rescue cat with my permission, so I now have a constant companion!! He is getting me trained.

Julie writes:

Highs of lockdown: peaceful neighbourhood. Quiet traffic conditions. Empty Doctor's surgery. No sport on TV. No politics on TV. Improved podcasts on ABC Radio.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. S.G. WADE: It's a very sad pandemic when you haven't got politics on TV. Frank, aged 93, begins his message with a recollection of the last years of World War II and writes:

I was called up, but didn't go anywhere. This lockdown is a little like those years…

Margaret writes:

I now have the tidiest cupboards and drawers I have ever had. At 89 years of age, I now have to find a job to pay for the phone bill.

For others the postcards are providing a window into difficult and lonely times, and I quote:

I'm becoming invisible, invalid and irrelevant. I don't want to ring anyone because I've got nothing to say. My phone is mainly silent.

These handwritten messages provide an insight into the challenges and the opportunities that the pandemic has brought to older South Australians. It is also a reminder to each of us to pick up the phone or leave a note in someone's letterbox to check in on those more vulnerable in our communities. On behalf of the government, and the parliament I am sure, I thank COTA for their work to acknowledge social isolation, to give older people a voice and provide us all with a clearer picture of what is going on behind the COVID curtain.