How An Unexpected Rush to Hospital Led Jill to Search for Quality Aged Care

It often takes something major to happen, or for your personal circumstances to change, before you can come to the realisation that you might actually need some extra Support at Home. Whether it be an injury that makes the day-to-day tasks a little trickier, or the absence of a loved one who would usually provide support, these significant, life-altering events are often what prompt people to investigate what support is available (especially when realising the need for extra support).

The time to receiving Support at Home funding can vary between 3-12 months, and is strictly dependent on the level of care needed – and how urgent this is. You can learn more about wait times, what’s changed since the former Home Care Packages (HCPs) system, and more on what’s involved, here. Whilst this is a positive improvement, it is still a good idea to be proactive in identifying when you might need an extra set of hands to help at home.

Jill’s husband was assessed for a Home Care Package,* and was placed on the national queue to wait for his funding. During that time their circumstances changed, when Jill began unexpectedly unwell. Luckily, Jill’s husband had been assessed and they were able to access the support they would need whilst Jill was receiving treatment and throughout her recovery.

*The former Home Care Packages’ system has since been replaced by the new aged care reform, Support at Home, which you can learn more about here.

Jill very kindly shared her story with us, to help others who find themselves in similar situations.

“CareAbout helped us to negate an easier pathway into our future.”

“It was my unexpected rush to hospital that began my journey of finding care for my husband, Peter.

I was diagnosed with an illness that required long-term treatment over many months and with uncertain outcomes at the end of the journey. 

Since he had a stroke a few years ago, and now, is slowly becoming more immobile and frail – as his carer, I was beset with concern over how we could deal with this situation.“

“Eight months prior, Peter had been assessed as eligible for a Home Care Package but we believed this would take some time to eventuate. As it would happen, the letter arrived as I left hospital and began treatment; believe it or not, I and was feeling rather below my usual par.

Apparently, I had to select from a vast range of providers one of whom would fit my requirements within a time span of a few weeks. The hospital almoner (otherwise called ‘a medical social worker’) suggested I should set up a spreadsheet of my criteria, and here, I would mark the various interviewees according to my assessment of their ability to meet my needs.

I felt completely daunted, despite the fact that I had worked for many years as an Academic Researcher at a University (and still do)!

Then an email arrived from CareAbout that invited me to make contact; said they would act as a broker for me to find a suitable service. I was very relieved but a little sceptical.

What was in it for them? What would I be charged? How could I be assured they had our best interests at heart? 

Before making a decision, I invited two services in my local area for an interview, having carefully perused their websites – in my view, a useful assessment of their presentation and provision of services. Neither impressed me!

So I called Helen at ‘CareAbout’ and had a long, informative, friendly and warm conversation. I felt comforted that there were no fees involved where I was concerned; that they were sure of what services my husband needed most, and that they had a wide range of services to choose from – and all would be taken care of in a timely manner. And so it was!

Helen followed up on my appointments with the selected provider, and I am extremely happy with the way all has eventuated.

I sincerely thank Helen and her team for making our journey into an Aged Care Package far less stressful. CareAbout has helped us, through their genuine concern, understanding, breadth of knowledge and information, to negate an easier pathway into our future.

A big shout-out to CareAbout!”