We need to enable independence for seniors
Older people should be able to dip in and out of home care programs and services as needed, writes Professor Tracy Comans.
Putting an emphasis on reablement likely to have substantial benefits, says Professor Tracy Comans
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Giving you the whole aged care picture
As we age, the desire to remain functional and independent in our own homes becomes increasingly important. Everyone would like the opportunity to continue living in familiar surroundings in the way that they want.
The government provides financial support to help older people meet these goals. The Home Care Package Program and community home support programs provide funding for services that can allow people to keep living at home.
By some measures they have been quite successful. There are now fewer older people living...
My comments come from a brief background of working with war widows who, with a Gold Card, had access to DVA Home Services. I remember investigating the types of services a particular group of widows accessed, and was not surprised that a very small proportion of people chose a HCP. The service options under DVA aged care services including VHC, community nursing and residential respite seems to outweigh HCP especially on L1 or L2. Access to a HCP possibly means losing access to DVA funded community services. So from a service perspective, war widows are better serviced on DVA aged care than on a HCP. And from a cost perspective, war widows are possibly better off as DVA funded services aren’t means tested, to the best of my knowledge, and offer a low fee for standard services.
DVA aged care services is definitely flexible but HCP can be flexible if older people and their carers are educated about its flexibility. Clients can change the frequency and type of services but flexibility may be a challenge from a workforce and business perspective. Maybe there needs to be a cultural shift in understanding HCP. Maybe the upcoming Support at Home will offer flexibility.
Sure, we need to support people to continue living in their preferred home but independent? Typically people, as they age, lose aspects of their capacity to do the things they once did. The term, independent is a fallacy as no one is truly independent. We are interdependent beings so one’s capacity to live at home as we get older is linked to variable supports including reablement services. One less talked about service to support ‘independence’ is counselling which is critical in supporting people’s wellbeing and their capacity to accept services. Counselling is not a long term service, and like some allied health options, is a good short term support service.