Innholdsfortegnelse for Summer 2021 i Australian Carers Guide WA

Home care Home Care Assessments Explained RAS vs ACAT Being a carer for an elderly loved one is challenging enough without being expected to know and remember the many Acronyms used in the Aged Care sector. When looking to get your loved one assessed, you will most likely come across terms like RAS/ACAT/ACAS but what do they mean and how are they different? It’s important to understand what they mean as it will assist you in accessing the right care for your loved one. The main two that you will do well to understand is RAS – Regional Assessment Service and ACAT – Aged Care Assessment Team (or ACAS – Aged Care Assessment Service in Victoria only). All together, these terms come under the broader base of My Aged Care (MAC).…

CARER PAYMENTS Are you receiving all you can? WHO IS A CARER? If you provide unpaid care and support to family members, friends or a loved one who has a disability, medical condition or is frail of age, then you a Carer. Carers differ in age, sex, location, cultural and socio-economic backgrounds which reflect the diversity of our Australian community and collectively play an integral part in Australia’s health system. As unpaid carers help to relieve pressures in our healthcare system, the Government makes financial payments and services available to assist carers and their families. Over two-thirds of primary carers are women and most care for a close relative such as a partner, parent or child. They include: FACTS ABOUT CARERS IN AUSTRALIA Australia has over 2.7 million carers, so…

Family caring Double Trouble Caring for Both Parents BY MARY BART Sandy’s world has been turned upside down. In the last four months, her mom has had a severe stroke and her dad has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Sandy struggles to think about how on Earth she will manage. How can she take care of her parents and her own family and keep working? Let’s help Sandy double her chances of success being a carer as she deals with the double-whammy she now faces. Here are some great ideas that will help Sandy and others who are caring for several people at the same time. Providing care is a job and it needs to be run as a business. This means getting organised. Providing care is a job and…

Give your brain a daily workout! Looking for a mental challenge? This edition’s brainteasers will really get those cogs whirling! Solutions on page?? Sudoku Place the numbers 1-9 once in each row, column and 3x3 bold-lined box. EASY MEDIUM HARD Kriss Kross 3 LETTERS WED 4 LETTERS DOZE 5 LETTERS GABLE LOVES NICHE TWICE 6 LETTERS BUSHES CHALET PLENTY REMARK SELECT 7 LETTERS BESIEGE PRODDED 8 LETTERS AGENCIES MULBERRY 9 LETTERS GENIALITY REPLACING 10 LETTERS CENTIGRADE 11 LETTERS CONSIDERATE Square Maze Find the path without breaking through walls. Start from the entrance arrow at the top and end at the exit arrow at the bottom. Square Maze Sudoku - EASY Sudoku - MEDIUM Sudoku - HARD Kriss Kross…

EMERGENCY CONTACTS CRISIS - EMERGENCY - INFORMATION: INSTANT HELP AVAILABLE BELOW Emergency medical care 000 (TRIPLE 000) Emergency assistance 000 (24 hours/7 days) Lifeline’s 24/7 service on 13 11 14 Suicide Call Back 1300 659 467 24/7 telephone counselling service Beyond Blue’s support 1300 22 46 36 SANE Australia’s service 1800 187 263 Carer Gateway 1800 422 737 Urgent mental health care for anyone having a mental health crisis: NSW Mental Health Line 1800 011 511 ACT Mental Health Triage Service 1800 629 354 SA Mental Health Triage Service 13 14 65 NT Crisis Assessment Triage Service 1800 682 288 WA Mental Health Emergency Line 1800 676 822 QLD 24-hour mental health care 1300 642 25 TAS Mental Health Services Helpline 1800 332 388 VIC Mental Health Services go to health.vic.gov.au…

Technology App App & Away 12 Popular & Helpful Apps for Carers New technology is helping carers and their elderly improve their health outcomes. In this article, Wesley Rush shows you the most popular and helpful ‘apps’. Some connect you with common services, others helps you create support networks, reduces stress, improve sleep and improve mental health. COMMON SERVICES The National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) has launched the ‘my NDIS app’ for self-managing National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) participants. Participants, nominees and child representatives who self-manage their NDIS plan can use the app to view their self-managed budget as well as make and manage claims on the go. The app is available from the Google play store and Apple app store. Dementia Australia’s Dementia-Friendly Home app enables the home to…

Advocating 7 questions carers should ask home care providers Picking the right at-home care provider for your elderly loved one can be quite a challenge. It may feel like a daunting task that requires a lot of time researching your options before coming to a proper conclusion. With that in mind, we’ve put together a list of 7 questions that you should ask a home care service provider before enlisting their services. 1 What services are you capable of offering me? One of the biggest questions to ask is what services the home carer is capable of offering. Many basic home care services will take care of personal needs such as helping you wash, get changed and clean your home, but there are also specialised services that may require a bit of…

Mental Health Help prevent dementia-related wandering By Mark MacLean Photos: CanStock Photo Stuart arose early, ready for a new day and excited about the prospect of a day doing the job he loved. He put on his favourite tie and headed out the door, briefcase in hand, to go to work as an insurance broker. In reality, however, Stuart is 85 years old and has been retired for 20 years. He also has Alzheimer’s disease, a brain disease that can take those who have the condition back to a different time and place. Wandering is one of the potential symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. According to a leading authority on the issue, those who wander often are trying to get to a familiar destination with a specific purpose…

Dementia care Dementia Discrimination The impact of anticipated discrimination affects those living with dementia, their carers and families During this year’s Dementia Action Week, Dementia Australia released a report Discrimination and dementia - enough is enough, showing that people living with dementia and their carers experience discrimination that can lead to social isolation, loneliness and poor mental health. We know that COVID-19 has intensified these experiences. Dementia Australia surveyed 900 people about dementia, discrimination and the impacts of COVID-19. The respondents identified as either people living with dementia, family carers, family/friends of a person with dementia, healthcare professionals or people who were not impacted by dementia. BY MAREE MCCABE AM, CEO DEMENTIA AUSTRALIA How Research demonstrates that this discriminatory behaviour impacts all aspects of a person’s life; from the way…

5 Secrets to better sleep By Theresa Albert, DHN, RNCP The jury is in: Driving drowsy is as dangerous as (if not more so than), driving drunk. And yet, millions of us do it every day. We bolster ourselves with caffeine and keep going–there’s just so much to be done! Shift workers suffer the greatest impact, but in one 2014 study, 4.5 per cent of Australians (that’s 1.2 million people, and mostly women), used prescription sleeping pills and another million used tranquilizers, daily. If we soldier on with our bad habits, we’ll never get a better night’s sleep. Experts suggest that the main culprits to a good night’s rest are: 1 Caffeine: It can take up to 20 hours to clear your liver of caffeine. You may not think it…

Keeping cool this summer 10 tips to keep you and your home cool Extreme heat can be dangerous and can result in heat-related illnesses including heat exhaustion, heat crams and heat stroke. 1 Stay well hydrated. Drink plenty of cool, non-alcoholic beverages such as water. Keep bottles of water in the freezer. When you go out. As the ice melts you will have cold water with you. 2 Avoid going out during the heat of the day. Try to go out during cooler times of the day such as early in the morning or early evening. 3 Keep windows and doors closed during the hottest part of the day and open them to catch the cool breeze in the evening when the sun goes down 4 Apply a damp cloth…

Finance Tis the season to talk about AGED CARE BY RACHEL LANE FROM AGED CARE GURUS Some call it the silly season, others call it the festive season but I call this time of year “aged care season”. It’s a time when families come together, maybe for the first time since last Christmas, and realise that Mum or Dad or both need some (or a lot of) care. So, if your family gathering turns into a conversation about “what are we going to do to help Mum?” Here’s my 12 tips for navigating the aged care season. 1 Talk about it. Conversations about care can be hard. Maintaining good communication and having a “with you” rather than “to you” attitude can make the transition easier for everyone. There is a wide range…

Time Out Improve your memory, concentration and reasoning. The benefits of puzzles are numerous. They maintain or develop problem-solving skills, and help you relax, even when they are so frustrating. Wordwheel Find as many words of three or more letters in the wheel as you can. Each word must use the central letter and a selection from the outer wheel – no letter may be used more times than it appears in the wheel. Can you find the nine letter word hidden in the wheel? Wordsearch Can you find the words in the grid? They will be placed only once and may be either horizontal, vertical or diagonal and go either forwards or backwards. Words can cross. BADMINTON BASKETBALL BOWLING CRICKET CYCLING DIVING GOLF GYMNASTICS HOCKEY HORSE RACING NETBALL ROWING…

NEWS VIEWS & MEDIA RELEASES MEDIA RELEASE 27 OCTOBER 2021 My Aged Care to offer Face-to-Face Support The Hon Greg Hunt MP The Morrison Government is creating a one-stop-shop to make it easier for senior Australians and their families to connect to aged care services. Building on the Government’s My Aged Care website and call centre, Services Australia will offer face-to-face support so people can access information about aged care, health and social services in one location. Starting with 15 Initial sites From next week, senior Australians in an initial 15 Services Australia locations will be able to access My Aged Care face-to-face support from specially trained Aged Care Specialist Officers. The opening of these services is a further delivery of the Government’s commitment to improving care for senior Australians, as part of…