Ann Power’s 83-year-old mother Mary Hilton had been receiving a Home Care Package for several years before she entered residential aged care abruptly, catching her family unaware.
“Mum was using the maximum home care hours allocated,” said Ann, Customer Experience Partner at Maroba Caring Communities in Waratah, Newcastle, NSW.
“I had to call an ambulance for Mum on a Saturday afternoon as she was fainting each time she stood up (this was one of the effects of her Parkinson’s Disease).
“Mum spent 10 weeks in hospital as the doctors tried to adjust her medication to rectify the fainting. I renovated my bathroom to be wheelchair friendly as I could not see Mum going home.”
However, the doctors were unable to get any improvement from Mum and said the only option for Ann’s Mum Mary was to enter aged care.
“We were given a week to find Mum a home or they would have sent her to a hospital that was a waiting bay for placement in an aged care home,” said Ann.
“I did not want Mum to go to this hospital. Unfortunately, there were no spare beds at the place I worked and we were very lucky to get her into a home in the suburb I live in (Mum is now 400 metres from my house).
“Mum went into care on 8 August 2018. Even though I had been working in aged care for 25 years, it was still a very harrowing time.”
The joy of finding her Mum a place into aged care was tempered by the paperwork.
“The first thing we had to do was fill out the form from Centrelink. This is a very detailed form that decides what payments are made to the nursing home of choice,” said Ann.
“Mum was lucky enough to own her home and therefore had the money to pay for her room. She did not have enough assets or funds in the bank for there to be any other payments to be made.
“Mum’s house took only a couple of months to sell, and because we had not paid the amount for her room until the sale of her home, we incurred a bill of a couple of thousand each month for her room until we paid in full.
“The majority of Mum’s aged pension is paid to the home each fortnight. The remainder of Mum’s money pays for her medication. The only cost for us to pay to Mum’s home is for haircuts or other incidentals.”
Ann, who sees the issue from both sides of the fence, says it is crucial to be prepared.
“Do your research and visit homes before you are in need of one. Get the feel of the place,” she said.
“Get your paper work done early as it can take up to six to eight weeks for a response. Put your name down at the home of your choice, you can always tell them you are not ready if they call you too early.
“Look into the extra charges. A lot of homes charge a daily fee for extra services, which can add up and can be more than what the residents have left out of their pension. Most families have to pay this fee.
“I would advise staying close to your family. Friends of your parents age are often too frail to visit, or end up in care themselves.”
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