Over the last 6 months I’ve seen two of my close friends go into aged care facilities. Both were in their seventies, so neither was “old”, or physically frail. Both were unfortunate because they experienced something as common as bad luck, which led to a brain injury. One was through a fall and one was through an infection.
Watching the sudden changes that these unforeseen circumstances forced on these friends and their immediate families bought home to me just how stressful it can be when someone has to suddenly go into an aged care facility.
Unfortunately the decision to put a parent, a partner or a close relative into residential care is often made as a result of an emergency of some sort. The person goes to hospital and all of a sudden, they can’t go back to their home. What do we do? This situation adds significantly to the stress levels of everyone involved. Often the people who can no longer cope in their homes refuse to accept this fact and get angry. The family members making the decisions often feel guilt. To make matters worse, they are often unaware of how the process works and have little idea of what services an aged care facility offers. It can be a difficult time for everyone involved.
A far better approach is to do some preparation before an emergency arises. If you think that there’s a possibility that someone close to you may not be able to cope at home sometime in the future, it’s a good idea to do some basic research now while there’s no pressure.
A residential aged care facility is about enhancing the quality of life for its residents. The facilities provide a safer environment than the family home and offer an appropriate standard of nursing and support services. Although each facility will vary slightly, the basic system works like this:
Before anything happens, your family member will need to be assessed by an Aged Care Assessment Team (ACAT). Anyone concerned about the competence of a family member can ask for an ACAT assessment. Clearly it’s better to do it before an emergency arises.
Your family member will be required to pay some weekly / monthly fees to the aged care facility depending on their level of assets and income and whether they have been assessed as high or low care by the ACAT people. To find out more about the fees you can phone 1800 200 422, visit www.myagedcare.gov.au or ask at the facility you are considering.
If your relative is going to move into an aged care facility he / she will be asked to sign a contract which outlines the resident’s rights and responsibilities.
If you think that a family member or close friend is struggling looking after themselves at home it might be worth talking to the management of a couple of conveniently located facilities and get an idea of what services they offer, what are the costs and how the system works.