Home care ensures seniors can receive the support they need to live comfortably and independently in their own home.
If you have a loved one or family member who is advanced in their years and needs help to complete day to day tasks, you can consider home care as an alternative to a residential aged care facility. This gives you peace of mind, especially if you live far away.
Here’s a look at what home care is and the different services on offer:
What is home care?
When you sign up for a home care package, a skilled carer will visit your loved one’s home in accordance with a set schedule. This carer can provide medical services, check on general health and wellbeing, and help with domestic duties.
There are four levels of home care available, with each level increasing the amount of support that’s offered. Clients can expect a home carer to visit a few times a week at the lower levels, while higher-level clients will be visited more frequently (sometimes even twice per day).
Before you arrange home care, your loved one will need an ACAT, which is an independently conducted assessment that determines which level is the most suitable. Clients who start at a lower level can move up if and when their needs change.
The package levels for home care are as follows:
- Basic
- Low
- Intermediate
- High
You can find out more here: https://www.myagedcare.gov.au/help-at-home/home-care-packages.
What does home care offer?
Once you know the level of service your loved one qualifies for, their home care package may include:
- Domestic assistance such as cleaning, changing sheets and folding/washing laundry
- Shopping and arranging groceries to be delivered
- Personal care including washing and grooming
- Transport to and from appointments and social outings
- Companionship
- Meal preparation
- Medication supervision
- Home organisation – paying bills etc
- Dementia care
When you accept home care, you only need to choose the services that are suitable. For example, if you can drive your loved one to doctor’s appointments, they won’t need to pay for this as part of their home care package.
How to pay for home care
The cost of home care rises with each level. Government subsidies are available, so the price may depend on income and other factors. When you are researching home care, spend some time on the government’s My Aged Care website to understand the costs involved. Home care prices may vary across providers but at KOPWA, we are very affordable and are able to help you navigate your self-managed funds.
Quality home care on Sydney’s north shore
KOPWA has been providing quality care to seniors since 1957.
Many of our carers have been with us for several years. Our longest-serving home carer, Susan Marsh, has seen over 100 clients in her 12 years of service with KOPWA. A self-confessed high energy care worker, Susan works up to 25 hours per week, seeing an average of four clients a day. Read more about Susan and her dedicated service here.
KOPWA home care clients are always treated with warmth and respect, and cared for by fully trained home care professionals. With our help, many seniors are able to live comfortably at home, even in later life.
To find out more about a home care package, contact KOPWA on 02 9412 0270.
