TLC – Tender Loving Care – is great for seniors. It respects them, gives them autonomy and acknowledges their independence. It is also very fulfilling, because it is a labour of love.
But, just like this topic suggests, TLC may not cut it. Not always, anyway.
In cases where it does not, what your loved elder needs is high care services.
Also known as “High Care Support”, this means around-the-clock professional help. Take note of the two most important elements in this definition: “around-the-clock” and professional.
You cannot provide both because you have a life of your own to live, and you do not have the necessary qualifications to do so. Also, your support workers may be able to, but you will have to change your plan to be able to access this type of care.
In the following sections, you will learn what this kind of home care entails and how it can be a game-changer for seniors with complex needs already receiving aged care.
Elements of High Care Services
You can provide home care for your loved elder with the help of a support package from government commissions like the NDIS, or you can leave it up to support workers, who can also be funded with the help of a support package from government commissions.
When things step into the territory of high care support, however, a nursing home must be involved. There, nursing staff will assist your elder in their day-to-day, providing personal care, mobility assistance, and feeding assistance (sometimes with the help of feeding tubes). They also provide skilled medical care to ensure that your loved elder is safe and comfortable.
Involving a nursing home may not necessarily mean a full relocation, however. Respite care could provide a way out for you, the family caregiver. In this case, you take a break while you hand your elder to a trusted team whose residential care facilities can make sure they are comfortable.
If this sounds like something you or your elder needs, have an Aged Care Assessment Team (ACAT) evaluate your elder’s needs to help you figure out whether high-level aged care is what they need. The goal is always to make sure that, in the final years of their lives, elders are safe and as independent as possible.
High Care Support for Disabilities (Specialist Disability Accommodation)
Strokes, falls, osteoporosis, dementia, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and so many conditions could keep your elder down, necessitating high care support. If you’re dealing with an elder living with a disability, your best bet is High Care Disability Services.
These types of high care services are designed for elders with extreme needs, and usually include a lot more than medical care. The NDIS particularly handles this, and their programmes that cater to these types of care cover community participation services, which help the elderly regain their dignity by providing a community of people they can befriend; daily living and personal care assistance, and feeding assistance.
This package also grants your elder access to specialised equipment and even SDA accommodation. NDIS can help you pay for SDA accommodation, wheelchairs, communication aids and other assistive devices to keep them functional, independent and, above all, happy.
This package doesn’t leave their nutrition requirements out, of course. Food keeps them as healthy as possible for as long as possible, and so what your elders eat is very important to the package. If they have swallowing problems, providers of high care disability services, as funded by you or the NDIS, can arrange Specialised Diet Programs for them, while also managing their medication.
Planning for High Care Support Services
The reason many families in Australia choose to self-manage their home care packages is that they want to be able to spread payments out by choosing what they want to pay for and how much they are willing to pay for it. This is not possible with high care support services.
When medication management, SDA accommodation, high care disability services and so on are involved, the care provider will have the most important say in how the funds will be spent. The simple reason why this is so is that they are professionals who understand this more than you do. Your research into their practices will help you decide if they are a care provider that aligns with your wishes, however.
With the research done, your next option is to consider aged care funding methods. My Aged Care is one of the best ways to find out which package can help you with your care goals for your loved elder. An ACAT assessment will be carried out first, and then the aged care funding will be disbursed to cover a large portion of the care costs.
With the NDIS, your elder can get a package that’s tailored to their specific needs, especially if they need disability support. Many NDIS packages that cater to high care support often include respite care as well, so that you and your family can take a break to attend to other areas of your lives.
Make sure to speak to a professional for assistance on how to go about funding the right care for your loved elder.
Aspire Aged Care: An Alternative to Residential Aged Care
This is a great alternative for you in case you want to enjoy the warmth of your loved elder’s presence and embrace more often than you will if they are at a residential facility.
Aspire Aged Care is a new kind of high care service that gives your loved elder a sense of home. Instead of facilities, your elder gets a flat of their own in a care village, with 24/7 care and emergency support.
These flats are decorated to your elder’s tastes, making it feel familiar and like home. You can also visit as much as you can to spend time with them as they receive care.
Do your research to find out how they can support your elder’s care needs so that you can have peace of mind.
Conclusion
In essence, high care services or high care support is the balancing act that you have to perform when your regular caregiving plans don’t seem to be yielding results.
It is to be activated when daily tasks/shared living become overwhelming and all your efforts towards providing aged care look need some boosting.
With the right support, your loved one can get TLC and still function as they should, even if conditions look overwhelming.
