Our expert Care Finder team is honoured to help Ada — whose name has been changed for anonymity — begin to fully activate and access the supports available inside her Level 4 Home Care Package (HCP), working through language and trust barriers to do so.
Background
Ada is a 90-year-old woman who carries past trauma as a result of living through WWII in her native Poland.
Living on her own, she is isolated from her family after emigrating to Melbourne from Poland in order to assist her daughter and grandchildren. After 27 years, her grandchildren now live overseas, and she has no support from her daughter; she is dependent on help from a couple of friends when they are available.
Ada has limited digital access; she does not have a computer and relies upon her mobile phone when needed.
She has multiple health issues impacting her mobility and how she manages daily tasks and personal care. During the last couple of years, she has had several hospital stays and extended rehab, which was quite distressing for her.
As such, Ada has very limited mobility and struggles to navigate the stairs backwards, while bringing down her walker. Her bathroom is inaccessible with a high-sided shower that she cannot get into, leaving her to have assisted washes.
Ada’s situation
Ada was initially referred to Housing for the Aged Action Group (HAAG) for assistance due to her housing situation, living on a second-floor housing commission apartment. Ada has been on a high-priority transfer wait list for a more suitable home for over two years.
When we met Ada, she had a Level 4 HCP and a current service provider. Despite this Ada was receiving minimal support and kept accruing funds in her package, even though she had high needs identified.
Ada finds it difficult to navigate her services on her own, and often feels abandoned without help.
The service provider care manager had not been in contact for quite a while, with no established working relationship. This has added to Ada stress and lack of trust.
Ada finds language difficult at times, and lacks confidence in expressing her needs, her preference would be to work with a Polish organisation, and a possible change of provider.
Our work
Ada’s initial referral from HAAG to our Care Finder team uncovered a series of complex issues that she faced.
Ada’s primary reason for making contact for support was related to housing, though upon review it was identified that she only received three hours of care once per week. The simple fact of the matter is that she desperately needed more services that her Level 4 HCP entitled her to.
We immediately identified a number of opportunities to assist Ada, starting with an increase of care hours to two or three times per week. Other opportunities for assistance included help with cooking, the provision of a personal alarm, laundry support, wound management, in-home physio, continence aids, social supports to connect with her church, an occupational therapy assessment, assistance with shopping, the provision of a taxi card, and more.
Advocating on Ada’s behalf has been a high priority for Care Finder as despite having a provider, she is somehow overlooked. Language barriers aren’t helping in this matter, as we’ve observed breakdowns in communication between Ada and her provider. Noting it’s a providers’ responsibility to provide support to make the arrangements to assist a client, we’ve challenged her Service Provider Care Manager to be more accountable.
To do so, we’ve organised ongoing check-ins with Ada and her provider until services are fully activated and her HCP is maximised. We’re hopeful Ada will also be transferred to a more suitable home.
Our follow ups continue to reveal services that are not in place. Moreover, changes in staff impact Ada’s trust in the organisation, and a decline in her health adds to the urgency of more support and a change in housing. Though other service providers may have more suitable support or a Polish focus, those providers do not have available services in the area and would wait list Ada, so changing providers is not necessarily the answer in her instance.
As a result, our work is ongoing, and focusses on connecting Ada with friends, negotiating with her service provider, and initiating contacts with the housing commission and a Centrelink social worker.
Do you need help accessing aged care?
COTA Victoria’s Care Finder team assist those residing in the South East Melbourne Primary Health Network region, with a focus on those living within the City of Kingston. Learn more about our service here.
Outside of the City of Kingston? There is a Care Finder organisation for everyone; if you or the person you wish to connect lives outside this area, click here to find a Care Finder organisation local to you.
Photo at top by cottonbro studio.