When most people think of 82-year-olds flying interstate to appear on a national television game show, they might assume it’s a once-in-a-lifetime swansong.
Not Rosalind Dorrington.
The Gold Coast local recently flew to Melbourne to appear on Channel 9’s Tipping Point, fulfilling a long-held love of quiz shows – and proving that independence doesn’t come with an expiry date.
“Tipping Point was fantastic and I got to meet Todd Woodbridge, which was a real thrill,” Ms Dorrington says with a smile.
“I was more than capable of flying down to Melbourne and I had an absolute blast.
“I usually play along at home, and then someone said to me, why don’t you go on it yourself? So I did – the episode will air later this year.”
At 82, she says she feels no sense of slowing down.
“I might be 82 but honestly, age is just a number and I still live at home – there’ll be no nursing home for me.”
Choosing home over aged care
Ms Dorrington is part of a growing number of older Australians choosing to remain in their own homes for as long as possible, supported by in-home care services rather than moving into residential aged care.
On the Gold Coast alone, Hazel Home Care now supports more than 200 clients – with numbers doubling over the past 12 years as demand for home-based support increases.
For Ms Dorrington, that support includes help with cleaning and gardening, as well as visits from a podiatrist – practical assistance that allows her to maintain her lifestyle and independence.
The trend comes at a time when pressure on hospitals and aged care facilities is intensifying. Recent figures show more than 1,100 older Queenslanders who are medically fit for discharge remain in public hospital beds due to a lack of available aged care placements – at a cost of up to $2,300 per patient, per day.
Industry leaders say many of these older Australians aren’t acutely unwell – they simply need structured support at home.
“There are some 100,000 older Australians waiting to be assessed for a Support at Home package,” Hazel Home Care CEO Kylie Magrath says.
“A lot of them may well be among the thousands of patients taking up hospital beds who aren’t necessarily unwell, but do need some help around the house.
“That’s where in-home care providers can help.”
The push for ‘Support at Home’
The Federal Government’s new Support at Home scheme, which began rolling out last November, is designed to help older Australians remain safely in their own homes by funding services such as nursing care, domestic assistance and allied health support.
“If more Support at Home packages can be released by the Commonwealth, that’s when we can step in and help these patients return to their own home safely and get settled again,” Ms Magrath says.
“I’m fairly confident in saying 100 per cent of these patients would prefer not to be in hospital.
“Older Australians want to live in their own homes where they are able to access their existing local community and cherished belongings.”
For Ms Dorrington, that rings true.
Home is where she watches her beloved quiz shows. It’s where she practises answering the questions before the contestants do. And it’s where she returned after stepping off a plane from Melbourne, game-show experience under her belt.
There may be tipping points in life. But for this 82-year-old, giving up her independence isn’t one of them.
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