Start Nursing Services

As you grow older, you may find that you need more help with day-to-day tasks or health care. If you are living on your own and not able to get out and about as easily as you used to, you possibly need extra nursing assistance.Home care services help older people and people with disability to remain at home and prevent their inappropriate or premature admission to residential care.

On 1 July 2015, the CHSP commenced. The Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP) is one of the changes being made by the Australian Government to the aged care system to help older people stay independent and in their homes and communities for longer. The CHSP is one consolidated programme providing entry-level home support for older people who need assistance to keep living independently.

A home care package is coordinated by an approved home care provider with funding provided by the Australian Government under the Aged Care Act 1997.They provide older people who want to stay at home with access to a range of ongoing personal services, support services and clinical care that help them with their day-to-day activities. From 1 July 2015, all home care packages are required to be delivered on a Consumer Directed Care (CDC) basis.The Home Care Packages Programme offers an alternative to residential aged care. It is designed to provide clients with an individually tailored and co-ordinated package of services to support them to live independently in the community for as long as possible. These programmes replaced the former community packages care programs. From 2015, two main programs deliver community-based care for older Australians:

1. The Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP) commenced on 1 July 2015. It consolidated four existing programs and provides entry-level support services for older people who need some assistance with daily living in order to live independently at home.
2. The Home Care Packages Programme provides older people who want to stay at home with access to a range of ongoing personal services, support services and clinical care that help them with their day-to-day activities. The programme is part of the Australian Government's continuum of care for older people in Australia, providing services between the Commonwealth Home Support Programme and residential aged care.

Levels of care

There are four levels of home care packages:

• Home Care Level 1 - to support people with basic care needs
• Home Care Level 2 - to support people with low level care needs
• Home Care Level 3 - to support people with intermediate care needs
• Home Care Level 4 - to support people with high care needs

Types of services

The services that can be provided in a home care package include, but are not limited to:

• Support services - such as help with washing and ironing, house cleaning, gardening, basic home maintenance, home modifications related to your care needs, and transport to help you with shopping, visit your doctor or attend social activities.
• Personal care - such as help with showering or bathing, dressing and mobility.
• Nursing, allied health and other clinical services - hearing services and vision services.
• Care coordination and case management.

Five steps to accessing a Home Care Package

• Step 1: Check your eligibility
• Step 2: Find a Home Care Package provider
• Step 3: Work out the costs
• Step 4: Accept a Home Care Package
• Step 5: Begin your services

In addition to these mainstream options, there are several flexible care programs which provide care for special groups or circumstances in mixed settings. These include the Transition Care Program, the Multi-Purpose Services Program and the Veteran's Home Care Program.

Flexible Care

In addition to residential aged care and Home Care, flexible aged care services provide care in mixed delivery settings. The three types of flexible care are Transition Care, Innovative Care (or Pool), and Multi-Purpose Services. They are designed to meet people's needs in ways other than those provided through mainstream residential aged care and Home Care:

• Transition Care Program assisted many older people after a hospital stay through number of operational places, with an average length of stay of 72 days for completed episodes.
• Innovative Care provided number of operational places in developing and testing service delivery for people who were not adequately supported by mainstream services.
• Multi-Purpose Services provided multiple operational places in rural or remote areas where mainstream services were not viable.
• National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Flexible Aged Care Program, which is administered outside of the Aged Care Act 1997, provides culturally appropriate care for older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians close to their homes and communities.

Maintaining your independence at home and in your community looks different for everyone, which is why individuality is a big part of our promise to deliver "care" you can trust. At Start Nursing Services, our goal is to enrich the lives of our clients as we enable them to maintain the highest possible level of independent living in their own home or preferred setting for as long as possible. Start Nursing Services take into account each person's individual goals, preferences and choices which are supported by a strong emphasis on restorative approaches and wellness.If you have been already assessed and granted to use certain services using government subsidy, you can contact us for delivery of the in-home support through highly experienced staff and according to your personal needs. Our aim at Start Nursing Services is to ensure that clients are:

• Empowered to make their own decisions about their care
• Able to identify their needs and goals
• Offered more choices to achieve better quality of care
• Able to selector change their service provider
• Offered to have control over the management and delivery of their care
• In the very center of the health and wellbeing process by giving them a stronger voice when providing them with care
• Have transparent information regarding available funding under their package of care and how funds are spent