Caring in Crisis: How An Expert On Ageing Got Toasted | Gohar Yazdabadi | Club Sandwich

Gohar Yazdabadi found out she was a carer from a line in her dad's hospital discharge papers, not from anyone asking her. As CEO of Council on the Ageing (COTA) NSW, she'd spent her career around the aged care system. Then in the space of six months, she lost both her parents, her father to a brain tumour, her mother to ovarian cancer, while raising two young daughters and running a full-time advocacy organisation. She joins Sarah Macdonald to talk about the year-long wait for an approved home-care package, being refused compassionate-grounds after-school care, and the administrative burden that continues long after a parent dies. Also this week: Gohar features in an ABC Compass special on the sandwich generation, airing w/e 8–9 Aug. This is heavier than most episodes; content note for grief and terminal illness.