Aged care: The help that can keep you living at home

Part 3 of our six-part aged care series It might be someone helping with a shower in the morning. It could be a meal delivered at lunchtime, a lift to the doctor, clean sheets on the bed, help preparing food, medication support or a few hours of respite for a family carer. For some older people, home support may mean one service once a week. For others, several different kinds of help may work together to make staying at home possible. At home care does not mean someone coming in and taking over. Often, it means helping with the things that have become harder while supporting an older person to keep doing as much as possible for themselves. Murrumburrah-Harden Flexible Care Services chief executive officer Maryanne Fitzgerald said the organisation provided personal care, domestic assistance, social support, meals and transport, tailored to individual needs. The service supports Harden-Murrumburrah, Jugiong, Galong, Kingsvale and Wombat, with some outreach work in Boorowa and Young. What does personal care mean? Personal care is hands-on help with everyday routines such as showering, dressing and grooming. Someone may still be able to shower independently but feel unsteady, tire easily or need help with only part of the routine. Ms Fitzgerald said Murrumburrah-Harden Flexible Care Services aimed to help people remain involved in their own care. “Our service not only encourages clients to remain independent in their own home, it enables them to assist as able with their supports to promote healthy living and remain independent in their own homes for as long as practicable,” she said. What does domestic assistance include? Sometimes it is the housework, rather than personal care, that becomes difficult first. Depending on the provider and a person’s approved support, domestic assistance may include cleaning, laundry, changing bed linen and other basic household tasks. For one person it may be the bathroom and floors. For another, changing the sheets may make the biggest difference. The aim is to help keep the home safe and manageable. What does social support look like? Social support might mean someone visiting at home, helping with shopping, accompanying an older person on an outing or helping them stay involved in community activities. Sometimes it is simply regular company. Coast and Country Community Services provides social support alongside community transport and Meals on Wheels across parts of the Hilltops. What about meals? For some people, meal support means a prepared meal delivered to the door. For others, it may include help preparing food at home. Mercy Health Home Care general manager home care Nick Claringbold said home support could cover a broad range of everyday needs. “Home care services can provide support with a range of things, including personal care, meal preparation and medication management,” Mr Claringbold said. Meals on Wheels provides another option across the region, with a delivery also providing regular contact and a familiar face at the door. Can someone help with transport? Giving up driving can have an enormous effect on independence. Without transport, medical appointments, shopping and social activities can quickly become difficult. Community and aged-care transport services can help bridge that gap. For some older people, a reliable lift may be the main support they need to continue managing most other parts of life independently. What about medication support? Medication can become harder to manage as the number of medicines increases or routines become more complicated. Mercy Health Home Care has identified medication management as one of the supports that may be available through home care. The assistance provided will depend on the person's needs and care arrangements. What does respite actually look like? In-home respite means someone else can step in for a period while a husband, wife, daughter, son or other regular carer attends an appointment, goes shopping or simply has a break. It may be occasional or regular. Respite does not have to mean a family has reached breaking point. A few hours of reliable support can help make caring at home sustainable for longer. Can someone help in the yard? Lawns, gardening and basic home maintenance can become difficult long before someone needs significant personal care. Murrumburrah-Harden Flexible Care Services is among the local providers offering yard and garden assistance. What is covered varies between providers and funding arrangements, so it is worth asking specifically which outdoor and maintenance tasks can be included. Can home care help make the house safer? Sometimes staying safely at home is less about another person doing a task and more about making the home easier to manage. Mercy Health Home Care has previously identified supports that may be funded in appropriate circumstances, including personal alarms, assistive technology, mobility aids, ramps and falls-prevention measures. Small changes can make everyday tasks safer and reduce the risk of falls or injury. Does everyone receive the same in-home support? No. One person may manage their own house but need transport because they no longer drive. Another may need help showering several mornings each week. Someone else might need domestic assistance, meals and medication support, while a family caring for an older relative may mainly need respite. The mix can also change over time. Ms Fitzgerald said people approved for Murrumburrah-Harden Flexible Care Services could meet with staff to establish a care plan suited to their individual needs. There is no single version of ageing well at home. What if someone is waiting for funded support? Not all help necessarily has to wait until government-funded services are available. Mercy Health Home Care has previously advised that private services may sometimes be available while a person waits for a higher level of funded support. What can be arranged privately will depend on the provider, service required and individual circumstances, so families should ask providers directly what options are available. Help at home can help keep staying at home possible For many older people, staying at home is not about managing everything alone. It is about having the right help with the things that have become harder while continuing to do as much as possible independently. That support may start small and change over time. The aim is not to take independence away, but to help preserve it for as long as possible.