A new report by National Seniors Australia, commissioned by the Australian Government Department of Health, has revealed what seniors and their carers really feel about the home care services they are receiving.
The report, Accentuating the positive: Consumer experiences of aged care at home, has found that while most seniors receiving home care services are generally happy with the care they receive, many felt that there needed to be better coordination of their packages and that the consumer directed care system needed improvement.
Based on a national survey of 4,536 people aged over 50 years across Australia, as well as more in-depth interviews with aged care clients, the report found that while 87 per cent of respondents felt that personal care workers treated the household with respect only 63 per cent believed that their needs were met in areas such as clinical care, showering and household services.
Less than half believed that their care was well-coordinated and connected with other health services such as physiotherapy, podiatry and out-patient services. Only 31 per cent agreed that Consumer Directed Care was helping them to better meet their needs.
The report author, Nationals Seniors Australia Research Director Professor John McCallum, said it was important to listen to negative views to target areas for improvement.
“People complained about services being delivered at times or in ways that were inconvenient to the client, a lack of continuity of care for dementia patients and poor training for dementia care,” said Prof. McCallum.
“They also expressed frustration caused by Workplace Health and Safety constraints on cleaning, and poor cleaning services generally, waiting too long to be assessed, and having to accept a lower level package until a higher one became available, poor communication from providers and poor administration of services generally.”
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Prof. McCallum said another major concern was that more than 40 per cent of family members and others providing unpaid care said their health was affected by their caring duties.
They had multiple issues, including the need for better access to respite care, physical health impacts, stress, mental exhaustion and feeling overwhelmed, loss of income; and difficulties coping with family dynamics.
“People do this caring with love but it shouldn’t make them sick or in need of care themselves,” said Prof. McCallum.
“We need to recognise that this family care workforce is a major part of the service system and support them properly.”
The full report can be found here.