MEMBERS of the Hawks Nest and District Probus Group were enlightened on the topic of home caring during a presentation by Jo Sheehan, Director of Home Caring Myall Coast (HCMC), on Friday 10 April.
Jo has been in nursing for more than 50 years, including 12 years at the Emergency Department in Gosford.
Her husband, Peter, is an ex-paramedic who now works with Jo at HCMC, along with more than 70 other staff.
“We should retire from work, but not from life,” Jo said, as she explained how the federal government’s My Aged Care system works.
The Support At Home system has eight levels.
“Assessed” is the first of the three “As” of the bureaucratic process, followed by Approved, and Assigned.
“Individual participants are rated as urgent, high, medium, or low priority for home care, and it can take 6-12 months to receive funding depending on the rating,” Jo said.
“I have seen some rated as ‘low’ priority wait up to 18 months, and if there is a change in circumstances, the cycle starts all over again.”
Jo said the “deepest sadness” she has had was losing people who were waiting for the system’s help.
“The point of a ‘home care package’ is to keep people out of residential aged care, as independent as possible [and] still living in their own homes.
“Most people need assistance with lawns and domestics, or shopping.
“The biggest practical concerns, other than domestic duties, are the ability to drive and avoiding ladders.
“Falling is a major problem in general, a fall from a ladder can be deadly.”
Support at Home is a new system stemming from recent legislative changes, prompted by the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety.
“The system is not perfect, and still needs fixing to avoid situations where people are paying someone to shower them or put them to bed,” Jo said.
“Everything is pushed to computers, which does not help… [so] people need their grandkids to help them on the website.
“Word of mouth remains a good way to find a provider, and you should not wait – get yourself registered now, so you can obtain your ‘AC’ number, which will be your identifier when you are ready to be assessed.”
Age limits apply, with those in need of assistance aged under 64 being sent to the NDIS, and those 65 and over coming under My Aged Care.
Hawks Nest Probus members will enjoy several upcoming events, including Breakfast at Tillermans, tours of Newcastle Airport upgrades, a visit to Mortel’s sheepskin factory near Thornton, and a slew of other grand social outings, sports and games groups.
By Thomas O’KEEFE
You can help your local paper.
Make a small once-off, or (if you can) a regular donation.
We are an independent family owned business and our newspapers are free to collect and our news stories are free online.
Help support us into the future.
